Proposed Huntington Hospital Office Building Set to go Before City Design Commission

The Design Commission on Tuesday will review a preliminary report on the construction of a four-story Huntington Hospital medical office building with subterranean parking at 758-766 South Fair Oaks Ave. 

The 100,285 square-foot building, which will house medical offices, has approximately 4,450 square feet of ground-floor retail space, and two levels of subterranean parking containing 185 parking spaces.

“Huntington Hospital is a national leader in healthcare with a long history of caring for the entire Pasadena and San Gabriel Valley communities,” according to a staff report. “This caring nature of the organization on the enormous advances in healthcare that Huntington Hospital is recognized for is at the heart of our vision for the project.

“We recognize that this state-of-the-art medical office building will not only be a center that will touch the lives of many in the community, but also people nationally. Healthcare excellence will be expressed within the design, reflecting the Mission and Vision of Huntington Hospital. The Huntington campus has a variety of styles with its main hospital reflecting a post-modern style and traditional forms. The proposed medical office building will reflect a discerning character involving a fresh contemporary look.”

The four-story building would have a maximum height of 56 feet with an additional 15 feet of volume for a stair and elevator shaft, as well as a rooftop terrace surrounded by planters.

The project has several design issues. 

The proposed site plan is arranged around a passenger-loading zone at the South Fair Oaks Avenue frontage and the northeast corner of the site. 

Staff is recommending the developers consider combining the passenger loading area into a more defined corner treatment that is better integrated with the primary building massing, maintaining the street edge along South Fair Oaks Avenue and enclosing the passenger drop-off area within a solid tunnel with usable space above and using the street edge as an opportunity for public art into the building façade at the northeast corner. 

An alternative is developing a porte-cochere feature that better holds the street edge. Future submittals shall more clearly demonstrate how the proposed design is compatible with the more recent development patterns and new construction found elsewhere in the specific plan area.

The staff report also calls for the reconsideration of an adjacent alley as an access point for a sheltered passenger drop-off area. Although this design appears to be removed from the design evolution process, it more successfully engages the corner and de-emphasizes the vehicular access to the site, as seen from Fair Oaks Avenue and Fillmore Street, the report states.

“The proposed design creates a pedestrian island at the northwest corner of the site that is disconnected from the rest of the building. Due to the fast-moving traffic along South Fair Oaks Avenue, this area is likely to be a hostile pedestrian environment,” the report states. 

“Although the drawings depict that the area would be programmed with seating and a fountain, it lacks shade due to its location at the intersection and will most likely not be significantly used.

“Reconsider the programming and design of this area and consider incorporating additional design measures to create an environment that feels more comfortable for pedestrian use,” the report states. “Restudy the extensive use of glazing on the west elevation. Consider breaking up some of the larger areas of glazing by expressing the major horizontal or vertical structural supports on the exterior façade.” 

The meeting is set for 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.