Pasadena's Playhouse District has taken on new life in recent years, with the addition of several mixed-use buildings featuring commercial offices, apartments and ground-floor retail space.  Two of its latest developments are now rising just blocks apart along Walnut Street.

At Walnut and Hudson Avenue, developer Greystar Real Estate Partners is midway through construction on the Hudson, a collection of three-to-five-story buildings which will feature 91 studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments above ground-floor retail space.  Each unit will come complete with high ceilings, stainless teel appliances, walk-in closets and balconies.

An official website for the project also advertises its proximity to both the Colorado Boulevard shopping district and Metro's Lake Station, which is served by the Gold Line.

The Hudson is being designed by Togawa Smith Martin with materials and colors tailored to match those of surrounding buildings.

Two blocks west at Walnut Street and El Molino Avenue, Greystar is nearing completion on a third building a third building featuring four stories of wood-frame construction above a concrete base.  At completion, the project will offer 82 apartments, ground-level commercial space and a public plaza fronting Walnut Street.

Like its counterpart to the east, Hudson West is being designed by Togawa Smith Martin.

Farther down Walnut Street, similar mixed-use buildings are slated for the parking lots surrounding the headquarters of the Parson's Corporation.