Design Commission to Conduct Review of New Project Claiming to Complete Col. Green’s Vision of Historic Hotel Green

A proposed new development called the Central Park Apartments Project for 86 South Fair Oaks Ave. envisions a six-story (plus mezzanine) mixed-use development with apartment homes for 84 families and work/live units above neighborhood-serving ground floor retail and restaurants nestled next to the Green Hotel in Pasadena.

A description by the developer’s project website says Central Park Apartments “completes Colonel G.G. Green’s 1903 vision for The Hotel Green” and transforms a surface parking lot into a mixed-use development that will connect Central Park with Old Pasadena.

The plan is being developed by Goldrich Kest, a Pasadena property owner.

“The project will bring new housing units and ground floor retail in an artfully designed building inspired by the 1903 vision for the property, complementing the adjacent Green Hotel Apartments and Castle Green,” the description says.

Pasadena’s Design Commission will conduct an Advisory Review related to an application for a Sustainable Communities Environmental Assessment (SCEA) for the project on Tuesday.

A report by the Department of Planning and Community Development said the project will include demolition of the existing surface parking lot, residential amenity space and advertising billboard on the approximately 0.74-acre project site, and construction of a new mixed-use building with subterranean parking and landscaping. The proposed building would include 6,200 square feet of ground-floor retail space and restaurants, four work/live units, and 84 residential units, including eight on-site residences for very low-income residents.

The project requires a Sustainable Communities Environmental Assessment (SCEA) approval, as well as an approved Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP), the Planning Department said. A draft SCEA was released on March 8, 2021 and the comment period concluded on May 6 last year. The Planning Department report said all impacts studied in the SCEA were found to be less than significant or less than significant with mitigation.

Last January 24, the City Council looked at the SCEA and required the Design Commission to conduct an advisory review before acting on the application.

A SCEA, as established by Senate Bill 375, evaluates the environmental effects of a proposed project in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The SCEA also evaluates the project’s consistency with the Southern California Association of Government’s regional transportation plan and incorporates the feasible mitigation measures, performance standards, and/or criteria from prior applicable environmental impact reports (EIRs) into the project.

The SCEA form of CEQA documentation was established by SB 375 to provide streamlined environmental review for certain Transit Priority Projects (TPPs). TTPs are residential or mixed-use residential projects that provide a minimum net density of 20 dwelling units per acre and are located within one-half mile of a major transit stop or high-quality transit corridor.

The Central Park Apartments project is within a half mile of the L Line (formerly Gold Line) of Metro’s light rail train system.

The Design Commission meeting Tuesday begins at 4:30 p.m. Members of the public may access it through https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81197751683 or by calling (669) 900-6833 and using the webinar ID 811 9775 1683.

Public comments may be sent by email to mtakeda@cityofpasadena.net.