Pasadena Y.M.C.A. was built in 1921 and was designed by Julia Morgan (Photo – Floyd B. Bariscale, flickr).
The staring contest is over.
By Marguerite Kribs
It seems that at long last, the most recent chapter has ended for the vacant YWCA Building in Pasadena’s Civic Center. Last night, Pasadena City Council voted against giving developers KHP III Pasadena, LLC, the public subsidy money the company believed necessary to continue the project.
Once again, Council chambers were filled with citizens protesting such a subsidy. Before and since the April 3rd meeting’s ‘pause’ on the issue, both to reconsider public comment and give the Kimpton project more time to elucidate reasons for the request, the Council received at least 60 letters in opposition to the hotel.
Pasadena Civic Center Coalition has maintained an organized, vocal opposition throughout the process. According to a source inside the coalition, Pasadena Heritage wrote the only letter in favor of the project.
Concerns over its footprint expanding into the adjacent garden, minimizing public space around the Mack and Jackie Robinson statues, drove a large portion of the outcry. However the subsidies also faced backlash. KHP requested the use of the City-owned land and over 100 parking places for free, claiming that it needed to operate lease-fee-free to make a profit.
Now that the Council has voted against the subsidies, the project is presumed dead.
Next up: a newly reappointed Civic Center Implementation Task Force. They’ll get to work on exploring new alternatives for the space after getting their objectives from the Economic Development and Technology Committee.
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