Pasadena Considered Fully Affordable Apartment Renovation

An office building in east Pasadena is slated for transformation into a fully affordable rental development.

Elysian Housing has proposed converting a two-story, 42,518-square-foot office building at 600 North Rosemead Boulevard into a 52-unit apartment building, Urbanize Los Angeles reported. The project also calls for turning a parking garage south of the existing offices into a new five-story, 81-unit residential structure. The developer would provide parking for 55 vehicles across the two buildings.

The plans, recently considered by the City of Pasadena’s Design Commission, include a mix of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments for low- and moderate-income households, but for two units reserved for on-site property managers. In Los Angeles County, low-income is generally defined as one person making below $84,850 annually, or $121,150 for a household of four. Moderate-income individuals make below $89,550, while households of four make $127,900.

FSY Architects is designing the renovated buildings. The blueprints call for updating the existing 1966 office building with new operable windows and open spaces for residents. The proposal was presented to the Design Commission for preliminary review but has yet to secure approval.

Under its housing element, the City of Pasadena must plan for 9,429 new residential units by 2029.

Elysian Housing has another sizable project underway on the other side of L.A. County: an affordable housing complex in Warner Center in the west San Fernando Valley. In October, the company filed an application with the Los Angeles Department of City Planning for The Green, a seven-story building with 316 one, two- and three-bedroom apartments on a 120,000-square-foot lot at 21155 Califa Street. Like Elysian Housing’s endeavor in Pasadena, The Green will be reserved entirely for low- and moderate-income renters, minus two manager’s units on site. That project will be part of Warner Center’s transformation into a mixed-use district anchored by affordable housing. Last week, Wellpointe acquired a 4.7-acre site at 6400 Canoga Avenue from Sandstone Properties with plans for a 100 percent affordable housing development. — Chris Malone Méndez