City begins design for ‘Orange Zone’ reconstruction; staff estimates about $15M construction cost

Public Works staff told the commission on Oct. 8 that design work has begun for the Orange Zone reconstruction project, which covers roughly four miles of local streets in the southeastern part of South Pasadena.

Staff described the Orange Zone boundary as north by Hope and west by Fremont (excluding major arterials Fremont and Huntington) and said the project includes local street resurfacing, water‑line upsizing or replacement, sewer replacement, sidewalk work and curb‑ramp upgrades. "In total, it's about 4 miles of street resurfacing and also includes water line upgrades ... so we're approximating about a $15,000,000 construction cost for that," staff said.

Staff said the council awarded a design contract on Sept. 17 and that the design is expected to be completed in 2026 with construction projected to begin in early 2027. Funding will include water enterprise funds for water work and local street funds (Fund 104) for pavement and concrete; staff said the city believes it can afford projects planned for construction and is developing a longer 8–12 year plan to address other streets.

Commissioners asked whether the zone would be divided into smaller portions in future years to serve more neighborhoods each year; staff said the city is exploring splitting work into smaller portions so multiple neighborhoods see progress rather than one zone being done in a single year.

No formal action was taken on this status update; staff said it will report milestones to the commission as design advances.