YWCA, Water and Power Site Plans Come Before Planning Commission

A site that could be used for affordable housing now appears to be picking up some speed.

City staff is recommending that the Planning Commission on Wednesday find that the proposed disposition of the Julia Morgan YWCA building and the former site of a Water and Power building as surplus property is consistent with the city’s General Plan.

“The City of Pasadena is negotiating in good faith with certain developers regarding the disposition and development of the properties at 78 N. Marengo Ave., 255 E. Union Street, 95 N. Garfield Ave. [the Pasadena YWCA building and parking lot and landscaped area adjacent and east of it] and 280 Ramona St. [landscaped area and dirt lot east of the Pasadena YMCA, now Centennial Place], including rehabilitation of the historic YWCA building.

After years of decline, in 2003 the city began the process of acquiring the historic YWCA building to stop further deterioration and ensure its future rehabilitation.

After years of unsuccessful negotiations with the owner and the continued decline of the building, the City Council authorized eminent domain action in 2010 to acquire the building for the preservation of a historic asset.

Rather than continue with eminent domain action, both parties agreed to mediation which culminated in a court-approved stipulation agreement which gave the City ownership in April 2012.

The city paid $8.3 million for the land and the building.

In 2012, the city issued a request for proposal (RFP) to identify potential developers that would propose a project that would rehabilitate the building, which included the potential to develop adjacent properties in a manner consistent with the Central District Specific Plan. In 2013, the city entered into an exclusive negotiation agreement with Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group, LLC (Kimpton) for the development of a hotel project on the site.

Preservationists opposed the idea of a 127,192-square foot, 60-feet high, 181-room hotel project at the YWCA site. The plan was eventually scrapped when the developer asked for a $30 million subsidy to help cover increasing costs on the project. If it had been approved, the subsidy would have provided the developer with decades of free rent and parking.

Prior to disposing of the properties, the City Council was forced to declare the two sites surplus land under state law. State law defines surplus land as that which is not necessary for the city’s use.

More than 200 public entities received a notification from the city informing them of the availability of the YWCA and former Water and Power properties as surplus land.

The notification is required under the Surplus Land Act (SLA), which went into effect on Jan. 1.

However, the law — which mandates the city to first offer available land to developers looking to build units that are considered affordable — may have hampered the city’s ability to move forward with developers that had already submitted proposals.

Under the conditions of the SLA, developers must commit to setting aside 25 percent of the units for affordable housing.

City Manager Steve Mermell is scheduled to meet with five developers for negotiations in closed session at Monday’s City  Council meeting.

During the Sept. 22 virtual meeting, each developer will have about 15 minutes to present their proposals, and the public will have an opportunity to submit questions for the developers to answer.

The meeting can be viewed at  

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81408196059

Adobe Communities, National Community Renaissance of California, BRIDGE Housing, HRI Properties, and Edgewood Realty Properties are scheduled to present their development plans in a meeting at 3 p.m. Tuesday.  

According to the proposals,  Abode Communities is proposing 103 dwelling units for families in a five-level building which may include subterranean parking.

National Community Renaissance of California, is proposing either a 94-unit family project or a 112-unit senior housing project in a five-level building, with 94 on-site parking spaces for the family project and 50 on-site parking spaces for the senior project.

BRIDGE Housing, is proposing to construct a 72-unit affordable housing project for seniors with approximately 39 parking spaces on-site in a four-level building on the Ramona Street lot.

There are two remaining developers seeking to renovate the YWCA building and make improvements to the block. One is HRI Properties, LLC of New Orleans. Their plans are to restore the former YWCA building into a 179-room historic hotel. The other is Edgewood Realty Partners, LLC of South Pasadena, whose plans are to restore the YWCA building into a 164-room hotel operated by Palisociety.

“Although the sites at 78 N. Marengo Ave. and 280 Ramona St. are currently undeveloped and landscaped, they are not designated open space or parkland and have been zoned for development since the 1920s,” according to a city staff report.  

“As such, General Plan policies related to preservation of open space and parks do not apply to these sites. In addition, because the specific design of a potential future project is unknown, General Plan policies related to urban design, architecture and compatible development are not cited in this analysis, but will be evaluated during the design review process for any project that may be proposed on the sites in the future.”