A surface parking lot next to Pasadena's First Church of Christ, Scientist, could soon be swapped out for a sizable senior living complex. On Tuesday, the city's Design Commission is set to take its first look at a proposed five-story building that would offer a mix of assisted-living and memory-care units in a stepped design meant to preserve views of the church's copper dome.
Design Commission Meeting
The Design Commission is scheduled to review the project at a special Concept Design Review meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the City Hall basement training room, S018, at 100 N. Garfield Ave., according to Pasadena Now.
Project History And The 2022 Plan
City planning records show the proposal first appeared as a 2022 Predevelopment Plan. That earlier version called for a five-story, 141-unit Residential Care, General facility of roughly 117,326 square feet, with two subterranean parking levels and about 178 parking spaces. The concept also envisioned subdividing the church property so the new building would sit on its own leasehold under a 99-year ground lease with the church, according to a City of Pasadena staff report.
What’s In The Latest Design
The current packet in front of commissioners increases the unit count to 145 and bumps the gross building area to about 127,500 square feet. The five-story massing would step back to a maximum height of 66 feet. Plans show amenities including a courtyard with a pool, a screening room, and a town hall space. Two subterranean parking levels would provide roughly 133 stalls to be shared with the church, and the building mass is shifted east to help protect views of the church dome, as reported by Pasadena Now.
Trees And The Paseo
Project documents indicate the development would remove about 30 trees, including six private protected specimen trees, five pink trumpet (Handroanthus heptaphyllus), and one jacaranda (Jacaranda mimosifolia), along with 11 protected street trees. A Hearing Officer has already signed off on the removals, and the developer must plant replacement trees under the city's Tree Protection Ordinance. The plans also call for a widened pedestrian paseo and a landscaped plaza that would link the church's Reading Garden with Green Street, according to City of Pasadena project materials.
What Commissioners Will Focus On
City planning staff is recommending approval of the Concept Design Review, but is also calling for some key refinements. Among the requests: a clearer design treatment at the east end of the paseo, improved passenger drop-off and loading along El Dorado Street, and a closer look at building fenestration to tighten up the architectural logic. Staff is further urging the developer to explore adding private balconies and to ensure that terrace areas on the second and fifth floors function as genuinely usable amenity spaces for residents, rather than just decorative decks.
Next Steps
If the Design Commission signs off on the concept, the project would return for Final Design Review and a Conditional Use Permit. Any decision by the commission could be appealed to the City Council, which has the final say. Belmont Village is listed as the applicant and has pursued similar redevelopments of church parking lots elsewhere. The company is also behind other senior housing proposals in the region, according to Urbanize LA.
