Huntington Hospital Submits Proposal for New Medical Office Building

The Pasadena City Council will receive a report Monday on a proposal by Huntington Hospital to build a new, four-story medical office building at the southeast corner of Fair Oaks Avenue and Fillmore Street.

The hospital has submitted a predevelopment plan review to the council outlining a proposal to construct a 100,825 square-foot facility with two floors of subterranean parking, according to a report by the city’s Planning and Community Development Department.

The proposed structure would stand 56 feet tall and have 183 parking spaces.

The property currently houses the The Huntington Collection, a consignment store benefitting the Huntington Senior Care Network. Plans for the store’s future if the new building project moves forward were not clear Friday.

“Our plans for Huntington Collection are still in discussion,” said hospital spokeswoman Dory Huston. “To meet our vision of becoming a leader in creating community well-being, we must ensure ongoing access to the right care, in the right place, at the right time.”

“Our interests in the South Fair Oaks plan center around maintaining flexibility for future developments which support our core operating mission and expand the continuum of care we provide to our community,” Huston said.

Further hearings and studies would be needed to address issues and variances for the project to move forward, according to the staff report.

Among them: The number of parking spaces proposed was below the minimums required by city codes, and the hospital proposed having two driveways, with one for inlet and one for outlet, which exceeds the single driveway allowed by city code for a property of the proposed size.

“Public hearings are required for the conditional use permit, minor conditional use permit, variance, and tentative parcel map, with the Planning Commission serving as the initial review authority and the City Council as the appeal authority,” according to the report. “Furthermore, environmental review of this project will occur consistent with the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act.”

Monday’s report will be informational only, and action by the City Council is not planned.

Developers of any proposed projects involving the construction of more than 25,000 square-feet of nonresidential floor space are required to submit a predevelopment plan review.

“The purpose of the PPR is to achieve better projects through early consultation between city staff and applicants. The intent is to coordinate the review of projects among city staff and city departments, familiarize applicants with regulations and procedures that apply to the project, and avoid significant investment in the design of a project without preliminary input from city staff,” the report stated.

PPRs also allow for opportunities for discussions of large projects among city staff, the City Council, applicants and the public.

Monday’s City Council meeting is scheduled for 2 p.m. and can be viewed online at cityofpasadena.net/commissions/agendas. The agenda can be accessed online at http://ww2.cityofpasadena.net/councilagendas/2021%20Agendas/Feb_01_21/agenda.asp.