Pasadena lays out vision for reclaimed 710 land: 1,800 units, mobility hub and phased financing

Pasadena officials and outside consultants presented a conceptual plan on May 29 to redevelop roughly 50 acres the city acquired from the state after the longstanding 710 freeway was relinquished to local control.

The council member hosting the meeting said the site is a once-in-a-generation opportunity and that the council has directed staff to pursue a specific plan and environmental review. "We own the property. We are the applicant," the council member said, adding the city must balance neighborhood protection, sustainability and economic return.

Consultant David Granis (PointC) reviewed the site's long history and the city's negotiations with the state, describing the relinquishment as "unique" and a model for other communities. He and planning director David Sinclair said the council recently adopted a high-level "Reconnecting Pasadena" vision plan that sets six organizing concepts — physical reconnection, community cohesion, restorative justice, economic vitality, sustainability and placemaking.

Sinclair said the council directed staff to plan for at least 1,800 housing units alongside retail, office and research uses, and to aim for a carbon-neutral, resilient district. "This is a guiding document," Sinclair said of the vision plan; "nothing's firm. Nothing's done." He outlined three subareas: a civic/cultural zone near Colorado Boulevard, a central residential area and a southern innovation area near Huntington Hospital.

David Winsikas, the city's transportation director, described two circulation alternatives and recommended a multimodal boulevard network with pedestrian and bicycle crossings. He said only 10 to 15 percent of current southbound traffic on the stub terminates in the project area, while much of the rest is regional pass-through traffic that the city and Caltrans would seek to capture at a proposed north-end mobility hub. The mobility hub would concentrate regional trips, provide transit amenities and connect to existing transit (including Memorial Park Station on the A Line), Winsikas said.

On financing and governance, Granis and staff discussed an Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District (EIFD) as one tool to capture increment from newly taxable property, alongside state and federal grants and public'private partnerships. Granis said the city plans to pursue coordinated partnerships that align with Pasadena's values.

Residents at the meeting asked detailed questions about how the city will prevent 17,000 daily stub trips from diverting onto neighborhood streets, whether the ditch could be covered or used for underground parking, and how restorative justice would be addressed for families whose property was taken decades ago. Staff answered that Caltrans has requested funding for feasibility work on the interchange and mobility hub, that covering the ditch remains an option under study and that restorative justice proposals will be considered as part of the specific plan and implementation discussions.

Council action items are scheduled in June: an Urban Land Institute report will be considered later this month, the council is set to discuss a potential EIFD on June 15, and staff recommendations including restorative justice details will be before the council on June 22, staff said.

Next steps are a formal specific plan process and environmental review, additional traffic modeling and outreach to finalize governance and funding structures.

The presenters were: David Granis (PointC consultant), David Sinclair (City Planning Department), David Winsikas (Director of Transportation) and city staff including the 710 senior project manager. The meeting included a public Q&A in which residents repeatedly urged protections for nearby neighborhoods and asked for clear timelines and safeguards. The council did not take a formal vote at this event; staff emphasized the vision is a starting point for the formal plan and environmental processes.