Design Commission Tackles Details of Proposed Beaux Arts-Inspired Housing Project Facing City Hall

The Design Commission on Tuesday discussed the design concept for a 5-story affordable housing project proposed to be built across from Pasadena City Hall.

The preliminary consultation, which is the first step in the design review process, is conducted to give applicant National Community Renaissance the opportunity to receive initial comments on the design of the project.

The 112-unit housing project is planned for 280 Ramona Street, adjacent to the former YMCA building which is located within the Pasadena Civic Center.

Currently, the site consists of an undeveloped dirt lot at the west end that’s often used for temporary parking and staging during filming activities, with an open-air walled-in storage and trash enclosure at the center and landscaping at the east and south ends.

The new housing project project is intended to fit in with the surrounding Civic Center buildings and the 1925 Civic Center Plan designed by Bennett, Parsons and Frost, commonly called the Bennett Plan.

As described by the applicant, the building, similar in character to the existing YMCA building, reflects the “Beaux-Arts style” both in planning and in level of detail.

The project involves the construction of on-site amenities, support offices, and one level subterranean parking garage providing 44 stalls.

“The intended residents are folks who are homeless or at risk of being homeless, seniors,” Dale Brown, who represented the applicant, told the commission when asked who will benefit from the project.

During the meeting, Commissioner Julianna Delgado expressed her concerns on the proposed limited parking for the hundreds of residents who are anticipated to reside in the building.

In response to this, Brown said the parking ratio is “more than fine” considering that the target residents are low income.

“In all practicality, if people have cars, they need to put them somewhere so if you have residents that have cars, they are going to have to pay for parking in a garage or somewhere else,” Delgado said.

“We’re still in California and people of low income also have cars,” Delgado further pointed out.

City Senior Planner Kevin Johnson also responded, saying no parking is required for affordable housing projects as per state law.

During the meeting, Commissioner Yolanda Sepulveda also commented that the applicant should ensure that the building is compatible with neighboring structures but differentiated from the historical buildings in the Civic Center.

Sepulveda echoed staff’s recommendation that the applicant should avoid a monolithic appearance of the new building so it would look more residential.

The commissioner also echoed staff’s recommendation that the use of high- quality and durable exterior materials on the entire building should be favored over the use of custom detailing and ornamentation that attempts to mimic detailing of the historic buildings in the surrounding context.

In the same meeting, Pasadena Heritage’s Executive Director Susan Mossman and Preservation Director Andrew Salimian also expressed their thoughts about the project.

“We believe that any new building added to the Civic Center should be high-quality and must complement the existing historic architecture in the District.”

“We ultimately feel that a Beaux Arts inspired design is the most appropriate solution, in which careful detailing and materials choices become critical elements of the design.”

Anthony Manousos, Co-founder of Making Housing and Community Happen meanwhile expressed his support for the project.

“I can’t wait to see the completion of this building, which will no doubt gain state-wide and possibly national attention.”

“This project will set a new standard for affordable housing and hopefully inspire other cities to follow Pasadena’s example.”