News of the Arroyo
Title: | Plans sifted for Army Reserve site |
Subtitle: | |
Date: | 2006-10-13 |
Summary: | October 13, 2006 - Proposals for the Desiderio Army Reserve site under the Colorado Street Bridge were presented to a public meeting at La Casita del Arroyo. The article mistakenly implies that the Arroyo Center for Art and the Environment will fill the site with buildings, but plans actually only include a rehab of current buildings and the greening of the rest of the site with oak woodland habiata. |
Author: | Molly R. Okeon Staff Writer |
Publication: | Pasadena Star-News |
Content: | PASADENA - Proposals to replace the Desiderio Army Reserve Center were presented this week as residents heard about potential plans for the site and asked questions of those pitching the projects. About 65 residents gathered at La Casita del Arroyo late Thursday to hear presentations of 11 proposed projects. One of the plans will be recommended to the federal government by the local Planning Commission and City Council. Presenters spoke in-depth about projects ranging from low-income housing to a charter school to an art academy and museum. Stephanie DeWolfe, the city\'s deputy director of planning and development, explained that the Army will move to a new site in the city of Bell, but will remain at the Desiderio site until some time before the base\'s closure, scheduled for 2011. The center, a two-story classroom building and garage at 665Westminster Drive, was included in the final recommendations of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission approved by Congress last November. DeWolfe said the city is working under strict guidelines from the federal government and must submit its favored project in nine months to the U.S. Department of Defense, which can accept or reject the proposal. Sonja Yates, executive director for the San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity, suggested a \"marriage or complementary blending of open space and Humanity homes\" for the site in the lower Arroyo Seco. This plot would include the Reginald B. Desiderio Memorial Park and up to 22 Humanity homes, she said. Yates said that her group hopes to partner with the city and raise roughly $150,000 to $160,000 to build each home. In addition, as many other presenters noted of their projects, Yates said her proposal would work to reduce storm runoff, a problem in the Arroyo Seco area. City officials proposed a Homeland Security Regional Training Center, which would provide space for the police department\'s Special Enforcement Section, created following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Specifically, the classrooms and office space could be used as a technical training facility for regional police and fire personnel, according to the city\'s proposal. For firefighters, it would provide a Fire Service Training Center, which was identified as a priority in the department\'s Strategic Plan. Tim Brick, managing director of the Arroyo Seco Foundation, expressed the need to create \"another cultural gem\" in place of the center. \"We need a local facility that celebrates California impressionism,\" Brick said Thursday. The foundation and the California Art Club proposed three buildings - The Arroyo Center for Art and the Environment, the California Art Academy and Museum, and the Arroyo Seco Watershed Center - to fill much of the 5.1-acre plot. The project won considerable praise among audience members despite the lack of a housing element, mentioned as a priority by many in attendance. All 11 proposals will again be discussed at the Planning Commission\'s Nov. 1 meeting. molly.okeon@sgvn.com (626) 578-6300, Ext. 4496 |
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