[Updated Monday, July 9, 2018 | 8:05 a.m.] The Pasadena City Council on Monday will consider the fate of a former U.S. Navy weapons research facility, now used as a self-storage location, that a developer wants to turn into a large mixed-use project… once it is decided what to do about the site’s possible decades-old toxic chemical contamination.
The project calls for the demolition of 29 small historical buildings on the site of Space Bank Mini Storage, at Foothill Boulevard and Santa Paula Avenue.
But decades ago, the site had a much different purpose as part of the U.S. Naval Ordnance Test Station, according to Pasadena Heritage Executive Director Sue Mossman.
“The work that went on there was critical to weapons development and testing in World War II and then into the Cold War-era. So it’s a fascinating story,” Mossman said.
“It was top secret weapons development and testing work that went on there,” she said. “So, very restricted access, very confidential and no one probably knew exactly what the work was at the time.”
The facility began life as a furniture company in the 1920s, according to city officials. It was purchased by Caltech, which used it for research into jet propulsion, in the 1930s.
Tonight’s public hearing on this project is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers at Pasadena City Hall
Between the 1940s and 1970s, naval researchers used the facility to work on weaponry, like torpedos. It was owned by Caltech and used for research in the preceding decade.
It was sold by the government in the late-1970s and was reincarnated in 1978 in its current form as a self-storage facility.
Now, Pasadena Gateway LLC, a subsidiary of Dallas-based real estate developer Trammell Crow, wants to buy the property and build 550 apartment units, along with 9,800-square-feet of retail space. The project has been in the works for more than 10 years.
But to do that, they need some approvals from the City.
The Council will vote Monday on several actions needed for the project to move forward. They include a resolution approving the project’s Sustainable Communities Environmental Assessment, a zoning map amendment, a permit to remove 17 trees along Foothill Boulevard and North Kinneloa Avenue and a design review.
City Councilman Gene Masuda, whose district includes the site, says his primary reservation about the project is the increase in traffic it might generate.
“Having 550 residential units on one site, especially near a very busy corner of Foothill Boulevard and Sierra Madre Villa Avenue, may cause a lot of congestion,” he said.
The developer says it has worked to mitigate potential traffic issues, in part, by situating all garage entrances and exits directly along North Kinneloa Avenue.
Mossman said Pasadena Heritage is OK with the proposal.
“The buildings themselves are not in good condition and don’t really tell the story of the importance of the site,” she said.
“That history is pretty remarkable and important, and the question is, how do you tell that story? We have agreed with the development team on a mitigation plan that saves some key symbols of the Navy’s ownership of the site, occupation of the site, and we’ll have interpretive materials that tell that story, both for the residents and for the public who will have access to parts of the site… so that history will be illuminated in the plan that’s been developed.”
Among the preservations urged by Pasadena Heritage, “The developer agreed to save and keep on site this huge monumental, cylindrical testing tank. I think it’s about 40 feet high,” Mossman said.
“Initially they didn’t think they could keep it, but they’ve been persuaded to preserve it and we’re very excited about that, and think it will be a real centerpiece,” she added.
But before any of that can begin, some questions need to be answered about what potentially toxic chemicals the Navy may have left behind when it sold the site more than four decades ago.
The Navy originally sold the site “as is,” said Jim Anderson, a senior vice president for Trammell Crow.
After first becoming interested in the property back in 2006, “We started doing and conducting some environmental investigation on the site (and) found out that there were some things that may be left behind,” Anderson said. “And that investigation actually brought us into a connection with the DTSC, the Department of Toxic Substances, at the state level and the regional water quality board. We formed an agreement that upon successful approval of the project, we would clean up the site to really the highest standard possible.”
But exactly what potentially toxic chemicals the Navy left behind remains a mystery.
Due to the “highly classified” nature of the work that went on there, the Navy reportedly refuses to say what kind of specific activities were done, or what toxic chemicals may have been used.
“So without any information, we needed to do physical testing,” he said. “We did extensive physical testing on site to determine what needs to happen and there will be some additional testing that occurs to even propose that cleanup.
“And if it is determined that the source of the contaminants is the United States Navy, the Department of Toxic Substances and the regional water quality board will have the information necessary to then go after the Navy for even more extensive cleanup, including aquifers and anything that might’ve affected by the naval activities from the City of Pasadena.”
“When you think about it, it’s actually a really good thing,” Anderson said.
The transaction is yet to be completed, and the property is still owned by Space Bank.
The proposed apartment complex would include 46 low-income units and 23 moderate-income units.
“I think one of the big stars of the show is the open space. We’re creating a considerable amount of open space, over 50 percent of the site, and this is nearly nine acres,” Anderson said. “We’ll maintain that space, but invite the public to come in and enjoy that space.”
“You’ll hear on Monday night about some of the things that we’re going to be doing inside that space including bringing back some of the historic relics of the site, some of the pieces of equipment that the navy left behind, some of the testing equipment. We’re going to show what happened there and in conjunction with Pasadena Heritage who’s been very, very involved with us on the side, do some storytelling.”
The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. at Pasadena City Hall. The public hearing on this project is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
Editor’s Note: This article orginally stated that the developer planned for access driveways to face Foothill Boulevard. that was not correct. The driveways will actually face North Kinneloa Avenue.]
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