News of the Arroyo
Title: | Base reuse proposals vary |
Subtitle: | Art center, housing among plans |
Date: | 2006-09-17 |
Summary: | September 17, 2006 - There are eleven proposals for the soon-to-be abandoned Desiderio Army Reserve Center beneath the Colorado Street Bridge, incluind the Arroyo Center for Art and the Environment, proposed by the Arroyo Seco Foundation and the California Art Club. |
Author: | Cortney Fielding, Staff Writer |
Publication: | Pasadena Star News |
Content: | PASADENA - At the Arroyo Center for Art and the Environment, California impressionist painters taking in the landscape mingle with Midwestern tourists ambling along nature trails. Bright-eyed school children arrive on field trips ready to learn all about watershed management before witnessing conservation first hand. And at the museum of plein-air painting, art lovers from across the region mingle among the stacks at the research and archival library after a day\'s viewing. Sound like a dream? It\'s but one of many for a disused Army Reserve base below the Colorado Street Bridge. Proposed by the Arroyo Seco Foundation and California Center for the Arts, it is among 11 plans recently submitted to the city for the 5.1-acre Desiderio Army Reserve Center in the lower Arroyo Seco. Submissions for the center ran the gamut from single and multi-family housing to a K-8 private school, a home for Rose Parade floats and a city of Pasadena police and fire department public-safety training site. Construction can\'t begin until the reserves fully leave Pasadena by 2009 for their new digs in the city of Bell. But while each plan has its cheerleaders and opponents, some projects become more likely than others when the opinions of officials, stakeholders and residents collide as a nine-month city process to pick a winner begins. Councilman Steve Madison, who represents the West Pasadena district, said he will be giving the most consideration to projects with the lowest density. \"The best thing \\ would be open space, but politics is the art of what\'s possible,\" he said. \"The things that are more appealing are low-impact projects like the Arroyo arts center.\" Low-density single-family housing \"consistent with the area,\" also would be an acceptable choice, he said. That might not bode well for four proposals submitted by nonprofits looking to build various low-income and \"workforce\"-level multifamily units on the site. Pasadena homeless service provider Union Station presented plans for 75 multifamily affordable apartments and on-site services such as counseling, life skills and money management. \"There is such a critical need for affordable housing,\" said Marvin Gross, Union Station executive director. \"And this is such a wonderful site,\" he said. Gross said his plans call for attractive homes that would fit well within the area. He sounded confident that local residents, who had previously voiced strong opposition to the prospect of placing a homeless shelter at the base, wouldn\'t object to this plan. \"What they were -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Advertisement -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- concerned about was an emergency shelter with people coming in and out all the time,\" he said. \"That is not what this is.\" And while low-income housing would certainly be a first in an area known for sprawling single-family homes, the right project might have a chance, said West Pasadena Residents Association President Fred Zepeda. \"Low-income housing has a different impact now as people understand housing costs,\" he said, adding low income could mean secretaries, nurses, police. \"People think less and less negatively of it.\" Zepeda said he couldn\'t comment on the Union Station proposal, which would bring former homeless residents into the neighborhood, because he hadn\'t seen the plan. Other applicants included the Pasadena police, fire, human services and public works divisions, which submitted a joint proposal to use the existing building for public safety training and the land for recreation programs. The Tournament of Roses submitted plans for a float services building, while Century Housing submitted two applications - one for 58 units of affordable housing and one for a military school. Westminster Academy, a private Christian day school in Eagle Rock, proposed a K-8 site, although principal David Thibault said his school is just testing the waters. \"We aren\'t looking to move immediately,\" he said. \"It would be something we would like to consider in the future.\" All applicants will give a brief summary of their plans during a community workshop scheduled in October, project manager Stephanie DeWolfe said. Then a series of community workshops designed to whittle down the choices will begin. While agreeing the process could get passionate, she said the city has successfully handled similar processes in the past. \"It won\'t be 100 people shouting,\" she said. The City Council is going to make the final decision in the end, Madison said, adding that he believed fellow council members would agree with whatever the choose. \"But we\'ve got many miles before we sleep,\" he said. cortney.fielding@sgvn.com (626) 578-6300, Ext. 4494 |
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