GUEST OPINION
Fremont Avenue at Orange Street (Photo – Melissa Michelson)
Developers are proposing to build 516 condos and 545 apartments, all in 5-story constructions, with 4,347 parking spaces, at Fremont and Mission.
By Melissa Michelson
September 3 – October 17, 2019 marks the public comment period for the largest residential construction project in the history of Alhambra.
Euphemistically called “The Villages,” the project will be across the street from the controversial formerly approved Lowe’s, now an empty lot awaiting further development.
According to the public notice about the Draft Environmental Impact Report (D-EIR), the development would “repurpose 10,145 square feet of existing office space as Residential Amenity space,” retaining the LA Fitness. Anticipated and significant environmental effects include impacts to the air quality and transportation.
At Fremont and Orange (Photo – Melissa Michelson)
The closest metro stop is South Pasadena Mission, almost 3 miles away, and the area is served by a single bus route (Metro line #258), which runs north and south on Fremont. With 4347 parking spaces at Fremont and Mission, the majority of transportation to and from the property will occur by car, increasing the traffic in the area.
> Comments can be submitted from any member of the public to plam@cityofalhambra.org before 5:00 pm on October 17, 2019.
Melissa Michelson is an active resident of Alhambra.
How many of those parking spaces are required by code?
There is no former Lowe’s because there never was a Lowe’s – or the two six-story office buildings – that were part of the failed plan.
The traffic load, parking, air quality, strain on sewer system, wires…
For decades, the city leaders of Alhambra have repeatedly said that this specific location is so overloaded with traffic that we need to push to build a freeway to the west. How can they possibly approve anything even remotely like this proposal?