The two-building, 108,000-square-foot shopping center is located on Post Street in the city’s Japantown, which comprises the largest population of Japanese people in the U.S. It is almost fully leased and remains a thriving economic center that draws locals and tourists alike. Designed by architect Minoru Yamasaki, Japan Center is host to dozens of entertainment and cultural events annually, including the Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival, which attracts about 200,000 people each spring. The center also has a 750-space parking garage below. Among the current tenants are Andersen Bakery; the Benihana and Kushi Tsuru restaurants; discount store Daiso Japan; a Nijiya Market grocery store; and sushi bar Oma San Francisco Station.

San Francisco–based brokerage and advisory firm Maven Properties was tapped to head the new leasing efforts. The assignment is part of a plan by Japan Center owner 3D Investment, a Beverly Hills, Calif.–based real estate firm, to build on the property’s historical success while also generating additional energy and commerce. “We understand the climate in San Francisco, especially as it relates to small businesses,” said Santino DeRose, a Maven co-founder and partner. “This is a center that doesn’t want to just bring in a bunch of national brands,” he said. “They want to curate some local interesting concepts and part of our task is to preserve the Japanese culture there.”

DeRose is employing a two-pronged strategy: to retain as many existing tenants as possible while attracting new-to-market retailers. In particular, he is watching the trends in the Japanese retail market. “We want to make sure we keep the tenants that are currently there and extend leases,” he noted. “Plus, we want to tap into Japan, which still has a very strong retail presence on the street. A lot of sneaker concepts come out of Japan, a lot of electronics, a lot of gaming; we have a lot of fashion that is coming out of Japan, and we have experience identifying trends and bringing them into the city.”

DeRose hopes to attract a martial-arts studio, among other concepts, retail and other, that can fit the market’s Japanese theme. “Right now the biggest trend is Japanese pancakes,” he said. “We have had the boba tea concepts, and we have had yogurt concepts, and we have had matcha tea concepts, so there are all sorts of trends coming out of Japan, and we are trying to stay on top of that. Ramen was a big trend a few years ago, and we brought one of the top two ramen places out of Tokyo into San Francisco: Mensho ramen.”

At press time DeRose was in the final stages of negotiations for two major leases as well as for a handful of smaller stores.

Among the physical renovations and improvements Japan Center will undergo are a fresh paint job and some updated signage, new murals and other artwork, some special programming and a Japantown visitor center kiosk. The company was unwilling to disclose any more details beyond those. For obvious reasons, however, keeping the center’s Japanese cultural heritage alive is a priority. Indeed, between the center’s two buildings sits the Japantown Peace Pagoda: a five-tiered concrete stupa designed by Japanese architect Yoshiro Taniguchi and donated by the city of Osaka, San Francisco’s Japanese sister city.

“Japan Center really is an anomaly,” said DeRose. “The place just does well.”