Two years after rolling out plans to redevelop a surface parking lot next to the historic Green Hotel Apartments and Castle Green, developer Goldrich Kest is facing a new hurdle: final design review by the Pasadena Design Commission.

View from Central ParkKFA Architecture

The proposed project, slated for a property at 86 N. Fair Oaks Avenue, is named the Central Park Apartments in reference to neighboring Pasadena Central Park. Plans for the site at the northwest corner of Fair Oaks and Dayton Street call for a six-story, approximately 93,000-square-foot building which would feature 84 residential units with 11,600 square feet of ground-floor commercial space and parking for 159 vehicles.

In exchange for density bonus incentives permitting waivers of certain zoning standards, Goldrich Kest would set aside 14 of the new apartments for rent by very low- and moderate-income households.

View from across Fair Oaks AvenueKFA Architecture

Architectural Resources Group is designing the Central Park Apartments, with KFA Architecture serving as architect of record. Plans call for amenities such as a gym, a pool deck, and multiple rooftop terraces. The style of the building is described in a staff report as being contemporary, but with references to Moorish features seen on the Castle Green and Green Hotel Apartments.

The resemblance to the Castle Green and Green Hotel Apartments is deliberate. At the time the project was unveiled in March 2021, Goldrich Kest announced that it basing its project off of a 1903 plan from Colonel G.G. Green, a Civil War veteran who built the two neighboring structures, which are both listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

View of courtyard looking southKFA Architecture

The staff report recommends approval of the Central Park Apartments.

The proposed Pasadena development is the second big project from Goldrich Kest to clear a milestone in recent weeks. In late July, the Culver City-based firm secured the approval of the Los Angeles City Planning Commission to build 129 apartments on a property just north of Ventura Boulevard in Studio City.

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