The City of Duarte has launched an update of the Duarte Station Specific Plan, the blueprint for development in the industrial zone located adjacent to the Gold Line's Duarte/City of Hope Station.

The specific plan, which was adopted in 2013, allows for a 19-acre site now improved with parking and three industrial buildings to be redeveloped with up to:

  • 475 dwelling units;
  • 250 hotel rooms;
  • 400,000 square feet of office space; and
  • 12,000 square feet of retail.

The proposed update to the plan, which is now entering the environmental review plan, shifts its focus away from commercial space toward residential uses.  Under the new development scenario, the 19-acre industrial zone would instead be developed with up to:

  • 1,400 dwelling units;
  • 100,000 square feet of office space, and
  • 2,500 square feet of retail and restaurant space.

According to Craig Hensley, Community Development Director for the City of Duarte, the proposed update to the specific plan will allow for future growth to occur in close proximity to transit and one of the San Gabriel Valley's major employment centers: City of Hope's 110-acre medical campus.  The not-for-profit hospital and research center recently obtained approvals for a 20-year growth plan that will allow for up to 1 million square feet of new construction, potentially adding over 1,000 patient beds and 1,500 new employees to the property.

One project in the specific plan area may be already starting to crystallize.  Woodward Aviation, one of the main landowners near the Gold Line Station, has informed the City of Duarte that it intends to sell its property for future development.  MJW Investments, the prospective developer, hopes to combine the Woodward property with a Metro park-and-ride lot to allow for the construction of three buildings containing up to 700 residential units, with commercial offices, structured parking for transit riders, and a pedestrian promenade connecting to the Gold Line station.

Duarte's move toward more residential development near the Gold Line follows in the footsteps of the neighboring city of Monrovia, which is also served by the Foothill Extension.  Monrovia has already seen the completion of a 236-unit apartment complex next to its Gold Line stop, and other proposed development within a half-mile of the station could result in nearly 1,500 additional units.