Impasse Threatens Apartment Funding : Little Tokyo: Developer and redevelopment agency haggle over low-income, 100-unit project.

Plans for a 100-unit, low-income apartment complex at Los Angeles and 3rd streets have stalled as the Little Tokyo Service Center and the Community Redevelopment Agency haggle over costs.

Continued delays could jeopardize the funding for Casa Heiwa, which is another attempt by the nonprofit Little Tokyo Service Center, in conjunction with government and the private sector, to provide affordable housing.

Casa Heiwa’s units would range from studios to four-bedroom apartments, with monthly rents starting at $300. The 1.25-acre complex would also include underground parking, a child-care center, a playground, a basketball court and social services, such as job training, provided by local organizations.

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Casa Heiwa supporters hope to provide affordable housing in an area where, according to the 1990 U. S. Census, 42% of the population is below poverty level. Lisa Sugino, who is managing the housing project for the center, said backers hope to draw senior citizens, tenants with disabilities and workers in minimum-wage jobs at nearby garment and wholesale districts, hotels and restaurants.

Casa Heiwa combines the Spanish word for “home” with the Japanese word for “peace” to reflect the hope for multicultural harmony and unity.

The Little Tokyo Service Center would buy the land from the redevelopment agency and serve as developer and owner. The Pacific Asian Consortium in Employment is a partner and would provide job-training services at the site.

Funding for the $14.5-million project would come from several sources. The service center would raise $5 million to $6 million through the sale of tax credits and apply for conventional bank loans.

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But the agency has been reconsidering its loan offer as it reassesses its budget and costs, Sugino said. The agency initially promised a $10-million loan but dropped it to $5 million as it seeks ways to cut costs in the project, Sugino said.

Project architects have already shaved $1 million off the cost by putting more units on the site, decreasing the number of parking spaces and agreeing to wood, rather than concrete, construction, Sugino said.

And the delay caused by the haggling could threaten an additional $4 million in funding from the Century Freeway Housing Program, which was created to make up for housing demolished during freeway construction.

The CRA’s manager for the Little Tokyo area, Gloria Uchida, said she and her staff are just as eager to move the project along.

“We’re still working with them on the concept and financing,” Uchida said. “It’s very frustrating. But we want the project to happen, no question about it.”