From today’s Chronicle,

A deal to sell Japantown’s two signature hotels — the Miyako and Miyako Inn — has been signed without a guarantee of long-term ownership, prompting fear in the neighborhood that the sale could further erode the district’s cultural identity.

“Our fear is that the hotels will be turned into condos,” said San Francisco attorney Kaz Maniwa, who chairs the Japanese Cultural and Community Center in Japantown and the California Japanese American Community Leadership Council.

The hotels are part of a larger package that includes most of the 3-square-block Japantown mall, which the Beverly Hills company 3D Investments is negotiating to buy.

Maniwa said community representatives had requested that the sale include a requirement that the buyer hold the properties for at least 15 years.

“San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, whose district includes Japantown, have been outspoken in support of preserving the cultural identity of Japantown. Newsom said Thursday that his office is drafting legal covenants to provide “protections for the cultural identity of Japantown well into the future.”"

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