Affordable housing is something to boast about, not be fearful of, says Mayor Terry Tornek

 

Pasadena aims to build affordable senior housing in civic center lot

This article in the Star News has a great quote by Mayor Terry Tornek about the value of affordable housing at Pasadena Civic Center, and throughout the city:

“But frankly, I don’t think it’s a sacrifice [to use city-owned land at the Civic Center for affordable housing],” he continued. “I think that part of what we’re doing here is demonstrating that we don’t think affordable housing is something that needs to be tucked away someplace. It is something that can happen throughout the city, and the fact that it’s across the street from City Hall is tangible evidence of that.

“We’re not fearful of it; we boast about it.” 

 To which, we at MHCH say AMEN!

By BRADLEY BERMONT | bbermont@scng.com | Pasadena Star-News

PUBLISHED: October 21, 2020 at 3:21 p.m. | UPDATED: October 21, 2020 at 10:48 p.m.

Pasadena officials have picked their ideal plan and company to develop affordable housing on the vacant site across the street from City Hall, owned by Pasadena Water and Power, but it’s not a done deal yet.

On Monday, Oct. 19, the City Council gave its approval for staff to begin six months of negotiations with National Community Renaissance, a nonprofit developer based in Rancho Cucamonga, which wants to build affordable senior housing for those who are near homelessness.

“This site demonstrates who we are, as a city, when we say we want to put affordable housing for seniors — coming out of homelessness — right smack in the middle of our civic center, our most important civic buildings, and prominently place it where we are,” Councilwoman Margaret McAustin said during the meeting.

It’s the first of two projects slated for the city’s civic center; the other will be across the street at the historic YWCA site, which could be renovated into a boutique hotel. The city is still evaluating proposals for the YWCA site, City Manager Steve Mermell said in Monday’s meeting, though he expects to have more details about the city’s pending selection in the coming weeks.

All of these proposals were presented to the public last month, although one of the participants — Edgewood Realty, which pitched a hotel for the YWCA site — has since withdrawn its application.

National Community Renaissance, more commonly referred to as National CORE, pitched a 112-unit building that would be 100% affordable. The nonprofit plans to offer those apartments to homeless or struggling seniors who are in the city’s very lowest income designations.

For the project, National CORE partnered with Union Station Homeless Services, a Pasadena-based nonprofit. It’s the second time this team has come together, having built Marv’s Place — a lauded affordable housing site in Pasadena — to great fanfare and success years earlier.

Marv’s Place is in McAustin’s district; she worked with National CORE on the project.

“Everything they ever said they would do on a project, they did it,” she said.

McAustin expressed her support for Mayor Terry Tornek, who she said led the effort to turn this site into affordable housing. She was joined by Councilman John Kennedy and Vice Mayor Tyron Hampton, who both echoed her praise.

“This is a great moment,” Tornek said. “This is a very tangible way that we’re communicating, to the public, our commitment to getting affordable housing done.”

While everyone on the council was supportive of the project, Councilman Andy Wilson expressed some hesitancy about whether this was the best use the valuable piece of property, though he admitted “that ship has since sailed,” and expressed confidence in the selected project.

Tornek recognized the land was valuable and said it represented “a demonstrable piece of evidence to show how committed we are.

“But frankly, I don’t think it’s a sacrifice,” he continued. “I think that part of what we’re doing here is demonstrating that we don’t think affordable housing is something that needs to be tucked away someplace. It is something that can happen throughout the city, and the fact that it’s across the street from City Hall is tangible evidence of that.

“We’re not fearful of it; we boast about it.” 

Mermell asked for six months to negotiate terms of the project; it will get some level of funding from the city and aims to get state grant money.

After negotiations, a final proposal will be brought to the City Council for a vote, Mermell said.

Councilman Victor Gordo stressed the importance of public participation moving forward, asking Mermell to outline the ways the public can get involved once negotiations are complete.

If the project is approved by the council next year, National CORE will have beat out two competing proposals, both from nonprofit developers. Officials said National CORE’s project was selected, in part, because it would build more units of housing at a cheaper price than any of the other proposals.