San Jose officials want to save the historically significant residence once home to a Japanese community leader, farmer and survivor of World War II internment camps in California.
Preservationists pledged last week to save the North San Jose farmhouse once owned by Eiichi “Ed” Sakauye after the San Jose City Council approved 1,472 apartments and townhomes on 23 acres of land on Seely Avenue. While the Planning Commission recommended demolishing structures left on the farm last month, councilmembers decided to have the city work with preservation activists to relocate it for an estimated cost of $500,000.
Site developer The Hanover Company has committed $100,000 toward the relocation, with demolition of the remaining structures on the property expected to start early next year.
History Park San Jose President and CEO Bill P. Schroh said he has a spot in mind for the Sakauye farmstead and the group will fundraise the remaining $400,000 necessary to relocate and maintain the historical residence.
Located in Kelley Park, History Park is home to more than 30 original and reproduced homes, businesses and landmarks with historical significance across Santa Clara Valley.
“The Sakauye home would fit great here because we already have a great legacy of the Sakauye family,” Schroh told San José Spotlight. “We have four migrant worker cabins on the property that we use to tell the different stories of the migrant groups that came and worked all the fruit fields and the orchards over the past 100 years.”
Vice Mayor Rosemary Kamei broke into tears when speaking about the importance of structures like the Sakauye farmstead in telling the story of Japanese Americans who faced persecution during World War II.
“It’s very easy to just bulldoze and put (the home) somewhere else,” she said at last week’s meeting. “We have very little to show, to tell our grandkids about the local (Asian American Pacific Islander) experience. Many of the Asian community continue to remain silent since no one wants to be that nail that sticks out. Silence doesn’t mean we don’t care, it’s really fear, shame and pain that prevent many of us from voicing our opinion.”
Kamei said they should aim to keep the home within the development’s planned memorial park.
District 4 Councilmember David Cohen, who represents the development area, said he supports the efforts of History Park as well as the Preservation Action Council of San Jose to raise money and save the building from demolition. He said the best outcome is moving the farmhouse to History Park, as it will be in a location where more people will see it and there’s less risk of it becoming a long-term parks maintenance issue.
“There’s two elements to the actual cost — one is moving the actual building, and the other is restoring it so it can be put on display and open to the public,” Cohen told San José Spotlight. “It seems pretty likely that there will be a successful fundraising effort to do the move.”
Ben Leech, executive director of the Preservation Action Council, said getting the attention of city officials for a potential preservation project is no easy feat. His group publishes an annual list of eight endangered buildings across the city threatened by neglect and future development. The Sakauye farmhouse is on the list this year, and Schroh said he found out about its potential demolition because of the list.
Like Kamei, Leech wants the home to stay within the planned memorial park to keep the Sakauye family’s history intact. He said moving historical buildings away from their original sites should not become the norm.
“There are so many examples of new developments and subdivisions designing around a historic building or historic site, even in San Jose,” Leech told San José Spotlight. “Right here is a chance to sort of turn the corner and all start growing in the same direction to prove that these sites aren’t just liabilities or inconveniences — but they really can be sites integral to the community.”
Contact Vicente Vera at [email protected] or follow @VicenteJVera on X, formerly known as Twitter.
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