A presentation to the Pasadena Design Commission reveals updated plans to redevelop a mechanic shop near the SR-210 Freeway with multifamily housing.

The project, proposed by the entity Speed Shop Holdings, LLC for a site at 2771 E. Foothill Boulevard, calls for the construction of a new three- and four-story buildings featuring 20 one- and two-bedroom dwellings above nearly 4,300 square feet of ground-floor commercial space and parking for 56 vehicles.

Aerial view from the southeastTyler + Kelly Architecture

The plan relies on density bonus incentives to permit a larger structure than would typically be allowed by zoning rules. In exchange, two of the apartments would be set aside for occupancy by very low-income households.

Tyler + Kelly Architecture is designing the project, which is described in a staff report as being of the Vernacular Industrial style. That represents a departure from the Spanish Colonial Revival style building shown before the Commission in 2023.

View from the northeast looking southwestTyler + Kelly Architecture

"The design of the project has been revised from what was previously a contemporary interpretation of the Spanish Colonial Revival style with some playful/ornamental elements, such as a bull statue at the roof parapet, and is now described as a vernacular industrial design," explains a staff report. "The revised design appears to be more contextual and is consistent with the architectural language of nearby commercial buildings along East Foothill Boulevard, which are vernacular buildings with industrial aesthetics."

The proposed development would rise a half-mile west of a large industrial-zoned site at 3200 E. Foothill Boulevard, where Pasadena city officials have previously approved the construction of a 550-unit mixed-use apartment complex from Trammell Crow Company subsidiary High Street Residential.

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