Pasadena approves purchase of vacant Kaiser Permanente building to use as affordable housing site
The city will soon host community input meetings on the project.
PASADENA, Calif. (KABC) -- On Monday, the Pasadena City Council approved a new public partnership project that would purchase an old Kaiser Permanente building that has been vacant for over a decade. The goal is to transform the building into housing.
"Kaiser did not need to work with us. Kaiser was well on its way to disposing of this property but took the time to listen to the supervisor, to the city, to me and recognized very quickly that the right thing to do with this property was to keep it in service for the benefit of the public," said Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo.
The building sits on the corner of Lake Avenue and Villa Street. City officials said the project goes beyond affordable housing - the location would also become a hub for healthcare and mental health services. Money from the stimulus bill passed by Congress will be used to buy the property for no more than $12 million.
"It's going to be unique. I don't know what model in L.A. County is currently in place that is going to look like this," said Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger.
The recent Pasadena homeless count shows there are about 500 people experiencing homelessness and more than half of them are chronically homeless. Gordo said the neighborhood is an underserved community that needs the support and most of the residents in the area are seniors.
"To have these services right here in the midst of so many seniors, but also offer services in northern Pasadena, all of Pasadena, including Altadena, is a tremendous, tremendous victory."
The city will soon host community input meetings on the project. The city will also draft the purchase agreement so the transaction can take place. There is no timeline yet as to when the site will officially open.
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