Pasadena Studios: City welcomes 1st affordable micro-unit development

By Luke Netzley, Pasadena Weekly Deputy Editor

Jim Osterling, Justin Jones, Joe Seager, Vannia De La Cuba, Hunter Simmons, and Christian Hart open Pasadena Studios.

After nearly two years of construction, developers Community Builders Group and Bridge Financial Advisors have opened their new 180-unit rental housing development: Pasadena Studios.

Built on a site that previously held abandoned single-family homes on Oakland Avenue, the six-story building holds the city’s first affordable micro-unit apartment community, according to its developers.

‘(It was) hard work, but fun in terms of seeing the dreams of so many people come to fruition and actually turn into a real building that people will be moving into in approximately one week,” said Jim Osterling, principal, and owner of BFA. “Any project of this magnitude is a team effort. … There are literally hundreds, maybe over a thousand people that got involved, whether it’s officials from the city, the design team early on, the construction team or management and leasing team. And every single one of those people and companies are very important to the overall success.’

Construction was led by Westport Construction, while Natoma Architects and LCRA served as the lead and local architects, respectively.

Pasadena Studios, which had drawn applications from more than 900 potential renters by August, will soon provide affordable housing for individuals earning less than $53,000 annually in the heart of Pasadena. The complex includes a range of studio apartments, including ADA-accessible and adaptable units, with 245 to 270 square feet of living space. Each unit also includes a private balcony.

‘This is such a major achievement to have so many units that contain low affordable housing and extremely low affordable housing,’ Rep. Judy Chu said. “This is something that is badly needed, and I am so glad that we get here to celebrate this. … It’s Pasadena’s very first 100% affordable micro-unit development, and it will indeed provide housing for those who need it the most.

These housing units are not only affordable but will also be transit accessible and ultimately reduce the air pollution and traffic congestion for everybody.

As Chu noted, the site lies in a transit-oriented location near bus and Metro Rail transit lines, Old Pasadena, city hall and the Lake Avenue Business and Shopping District.

Pasadena Studios also offers numerous Class A amenities, such as a fitness center, laundry room, landscaped rooftop deck with seating, lobby area seating with a kitchenette and community space, two grilling stations and bike storage. To encourage environmentally sustainable living, the 56,000-square-foot community has separate HEPA air filtration and HVAC systems in each unit, on-site stormwater retention and percolation, low-water demand landscape materials, solar panels, and EV charging stations.

“Affordable housing does not allude to inferior housing; it’s reimagining places like this that are both vibrant and budget friendly, so every aspect of this property has been maximized to meet various property amenities, including the sustainability of its infrastructure,” Councilmember Justin Jones said. “(Pasadena Studios) was designed for individuals to meet one another and build community while still fulfilling a significant housing need for people from all walks of life. … Approximately 180 individuals will now call this place home in our city. And not only will they call this place home, but they’ll also use their money to reinvest in our city, so we can recycle their dollars into our community, and we can continue to build … a more vibrant Pasadena.”

Built at a cost of $250,000 per unit, Pasadena Studios required no financing from the city. The final cost for the development totaled $45 million, with construction costs of $27 million. It was built using tax credits and tax-exempt bonds through the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit programs, while Citibank played a significant role in providing the necessary loan funds based on awards from the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee and the California Debt Limit Allocation Committee.

“Micro-units are the wave of the future. This is the first type of project that has been funded with low-income housing tax credits … and tax-exempt bonds,” said Christian Hart of Community Builders Group. “This is a legacy project for us. We hope that this project will stand for the next hundred years. It was crafted with a design that was intended to be open to the community and to house people in a manner that is best in at an affordable level. And that’s a rarity because people accept things that are below par quite often in the affordable realm. That’s not right, and we’re going to change that.

“That’s what our intention is for the next decade. We have big plans for both Pasadena and Southern California to add value in a manner that hasn’t been done before.”

Pasadena Studios 280 N. Oakland Avenue, Pasadena pasadena-studios.com, thecgb.com.