A new environmental study details plans to redevelop a small office building near the South Pasadena Metro Rail station with multifamily housing and street-fronting commercial uses.

The approximately 70,000-square-foot site, located at 845 El Centro Street, is slated for the construction of a collection of three-story structure containing 57 residential units - including studios, lofts, flats, and townhomes - with approximately 6,100 square feet of retail and restaurant space and two levels of underground parking.

The project is named "Seven Patios," for the common open spaces distributed throughout the development site.  Landscape architecture firm Korn Randolph has planned for new greenery around the property's perimeter, as well as the planting of 95 new trees - replacing 20 which are slated for removal. 

The buildings are being designed by Pasadena architecture and planning firm Moule & Polyzoides, and would incorporate multiple architectural styles.  The eastern portion of the site - located closer to the Metro station - would be commercial in character, while the western portion of the property would have a Mediterranean look.  Bungalows planned at the southernmost point of the property would be of a Craftsman style.  Elevation plans show varying roof forms used to reduce the overall volume of the buildings, with height stepping down toward an adjacent district of single-family dwellings.

Should the City of South Pasadena approve the project, it is expected to be built in one phase.  Although an exact timeline is not stated, the environmental report anticipates a roughly 12-month buildout starting in Summer 2021 and concluding in Fall 2022.

Los Angeles County Assessor Records list the owner of the property as an entity managed by investor James Li, who is connected to several other mixed-use projects in the Pasadena area.

The project is one of just a handful of mixed-use developments in the South Pasadena neighborhood.  Another housing and retail project, proposed for a site on Mission Street, is being developed by the family behind the Panda Express restaurant chain.