“The facility Amazon purchased in northern Pasadena is a research and development facility that expands our quantum computing work in Pasadena, building on our existing AWS Center for Quantum Computing partnership with Caltech, which opened in 2021,” the spokesperson said. “We’re in early planning stages and committed to working with city officials and the community throughout the permitting and development process.”
The facility is located at 2964 Bradley Street in Pasadena, and was previously home to Internet service provider Earthlink. Spanning 168,000 square feet, the facility is within the City’s technology and life science corridor, and was constructed in 1981, later renovated in 2018.
Amazon purchased the property in December for approximately $78 million — more than double its previous sale price in 2021. Apparel retailer Max Studios reportedly occupies roughly half the building through 2027, with French aerospace firm Thales the most recent additional occupant.
At the March 2 City Council meeting, a spokesperson speaking on behalf of a group of residents calling themselves the Concerned Citizens of Rose Court, told the Council they recently learned that Amazon had purchased the property for use as a high-intensity AI data center.
“This facility is not a standard commercial building,” the group’s speaker alleged. “It is a high-intensity industrial energy operation that will significantly impact our neighborhood utilities and safety.”
The group’s speaker called on the Council to require a full environmental impact report covering air quality, fire safety, diesel generator emissions, traffic and noise. She also demanded that Amazon bear the full cost of any utility infrastructure upgrades — including substations, transformers and water system improvements — and that no resulting rate increases be passed on to Pasadena residents.
She said the group would submit its formal requests in writing to every Councilmember and to the director of the Pasadena Department of Water and Power ahead of a public rate review scheduled for March 10.
Councilmember Justin Jones responded by announcing that the Municipal Services Committee would bring a dedicated agenda item on data centers for a “very intense discussion.” (In fact, Tuesday’s Municipal Services Committee meeting will include a data center discussion.)
Amazon, however, addressed concerns by going on the record: the facility will be a research and development laboratory.
City staff confirmed that no formal application has been submitted and no plans have been reviewed for the building to be used as a data center.
Get our daily Pasadena newspaper in your email box. Free.
Get all the latest Pasadena news, more than 10 fresh stories daily, 7 days a week at 7 a.m.
