One of nation's oldest Japantowns in San Jose gets new building

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- There is an exciting new addition to a South Bay neighborhood.

It's one of the oldest Japantowns in the United Sates, and on Friday they got something new with the grand opening of the Japantown Senior Apartments in San Jose.

At a cost of more than $27 million, the 75-unit housing project took nearly eight years to finish.

"Rents have been skyrocketing, and the people I've normally seen that were just low-income seniors are now in sub-standard housing or now homeless, that's the nature of the crisis, and that's why this housing is vital," explained Geoff Morgan with First Community Housing.

The new complex is close to the two of the area's most iconic buildings including the Japanese American Museum of San Jose and the San Jose Buddhist Temple.

This year, the community is commemorating the 126th anniversary of Japantown.

"It's very important that we maintain the quality of this town for the enjoyment of everybody, regardless of what cultural heritage they come from," said San Jose resident Shirley Kuramoto.