Pair of Mixed-Use Projects Proposed by Auto Dealer Paul Rusnak to Replace Volvo Dealership Site

The Pasadena Design Commission will hold a special meeting Tuesday to review a proposal by the Rusnak Group’s high end car dealership company to replace its current Volvo dealership in mid-central Pasadena with a pair of mixed-use complexes.

One of the buildings is a three- and four-story, 91,864 square-foot, mixed-use building with 5,143 square feet of ground floor commercial space and 73 residential dwelling units with 79 at-grade parking spaces at 1999 E. Colorado Blvd. The other is a three- and four-story mixed-use building consisting of 77 residential dwelling units, 4,500 square feet of ground floor commercial space, and 77 at-grade parking spaces at 2025 E. Colorado Blvd.

Both these projects are in the Preliminary Consultation phase of the City’s approval process.

The two project sites are on the north side of E. Colorado Blvd., separated by N. San Marino Ave.

Plans submitted to the Department of Planning and Community Development show the proposed building east of N. San Marino Ave. will replace four buildings currently on site: a 14,418 square-foot sales building, a 922 square-foot storage building, a 7,417 square-foot service building for Rusnak Volvo Dealership and a 7,267 square-foot commercial building east of the service building. The project will also consolidate five adjoining parcels into a single project site.

The proposed building on the other side – the western side of N. San Marino – will occupy approximately a 61,593 square-foot city block spanning between Berkeley and N. San Marino Avenues, with frontage on all three streets. A car display/storage lot for the Rusnak Volvo Dealership will be demolished, according to the proposal, as well as two single-family residences located at 36 N. Berkeley Avenue and 45 N. San Marino Ave.

Surrounding the two project sites are a variety of low-scale, one- to two-story, commercial, retail, and service-related establishments fronting E. Colorado Blvd. Transitioning from E. Colorado Boulevard to the north and south of the project site are multi-family zoned properties developed with one- to two-story single-family residences and multi-family buildings.

The building on the east of N. San Marino Ave. will have an O-shaped footprint, wrapping the site along two street frontages – E. Colorado Blvd. and N. San Marino Ave. – and a proposed dog park fronts Oak Ave. The ground floor features two commercial spaces that extend along the majority of the E. Colorado Blvd. street frontage.

The building on the west of N. San Marino Ave. will have a U-shape footprint that wraps the site along its three street frontages and interrupted only by an open driveway portal along Berkeley Ave. to access the ground-level parking lot.

None of the project sites are designated as a historic resource and there are no individually-designated historic resources or landmark districts around the vicinity.

Both projects are being reviewed in tandem. While there are some differences, both projects reflect a similar design concept, scope, site planning, mass/scale, and materiality. As both projects are in the Preliminary Consultation process, the Department of Planning and Economic Development will present applicable design guidelines for the district, classified as neighborhood commercial and multi-family residential district, and explain potential design issues such as possible historic resource evaluations that may be required for the proposed demolition of existing single-family residences that are 45 years or older.

Members of the community can watch the deliberation through video conference at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82862175372 or by calling (669) 900-6833 and using the webinar ID 828 6217 5372.

Public comment may be sent by email to commentsDC@cityofpasadena.net.

The meeting begins at 4:30 p.m.