Caltrans to sell 460 houses along the 710

The California Department of Transportation, or Caltrans, is now selling the 460 homes along the 710 Freeway that it purchased in the 1950s and 60s for an extension project that never came to be.

The properties range from small cottages to mansions in South Pasadena, the Los Angeles Times reported.  Tenants of the first 42 properties to be sold were notified by Caltrans Friday. If they respond within three months, they’ll have the right to purchase the house if they meet certain income requirements.

Low-income renters, as well as renters who make less than 150 percent of the county’s median income, will get the chance to buy at below-market rates.

After the current qualifying tenants, affordable housing development companies and tenants above the income threshold will get the chance to buy, as will former tenants. The last resort is public auction.

The 710 extension project, intended to connect Pasadena with Alhambra, was stalled by decades of litigation and legislation. It received $780 million when Measure R was approved in 2008. But despite selling the properties to make way for it, Caltrans is not yet sure what the extension will look like. Transportation officials are considering a light-rail line, a bus rapid-transit system, or a pair of double-decker freeway tunnels. [LAT] — Cathaleen Chen