A move to redevelop the well-known Sakura Square in downtown Denver is underway.
The site belongs to the long-standing Tri-State Denver Buddhist Temple, which has been in operation for more than a century.
Located at the intersection of 19th Street and Larimer Street, the square currently includes nearly two dozen apartment units, as well as restaurant and retail space.
Officials with the company that owns the site have indicated that for the expansion to become reality the building housing the temple itself will most likely have to be demolished.
That building was completed in 1949, and because of its age has some structural and mechanical system issues.
In a public statement, the company Sakura Square LLC said it wanted to “reposition Sakura Square and the Temple for current and future generations.”
That means that once the current temple is leveled, work can begin on building both a new temple as well as community center.
The redeveloped square will additionally see the creation of more residential and retail space.
Sakura Square was designed by well-known architect Bertram Bruton and includes a garden with a monument dedicated to Minoru Yasui, a lawyer who challenged the internment of Japanese-Americans in World War II and was himself sent to a relocation center in Idaho.
Last year the square was recognized by the group Historic Denver as one of the city’s most treasured historic sites.
By Garry Boulard
