Parents Form Building a Better Pasadena to Challenge Caltech Project Near School

When Greg Van Dyke stood before the Pasadena Design Commission in December, he spoke for a group that did not exist just four months earlier.

“No one’s against an innovation center and no one’s against Caltech,” Van Dyke, a parishioner at St. Philip the Apostle Church, told commissioners. “But we’re against a building being built in an inappropriate space that overwhelms our community.”

Van Dyke is among the parents and church members who formed Building a Better Pasadena in September 2025 after learning that Caltech and developer Trammell Crow Company planned to build a 93,500-square-foot research facility on a parking lot adjacent to St. Philip the Apostle School. The TK-8 Catholic school serves about 550 students, with the nearest classroom 88 feet from the project site.

Their opposition campaign faces a critical test today when the Design Commission votes on concept design approval for the four-story building. City planning staff recommend approval with conditions, finding the project complies with the East Colorado Specific Plan adopted in 2022.

The group launched a Change.org petition on September 8, 2025. By Monday, it had gathered 1,372 verified signatures, with 203 people signing in the past week alone.

“The building is simply too big for the proposed location,” Van Dyke said at the December hearing. “It’s a horrible precedent for rushing through commercial development without consultation for schools and churches impacted.”

Building a Better Pasadena draws its membership primarily from St. Philip the Apostle Parish. The school’s Board President Gina Cockriel has encouraged the community to attend hearings, and Van Dyke’s wife Annie serves as past president of the school board. The group’s petition names Caltech’s Board of Trustees, the Pasadena School Board, and Trammell Crow Company as decision makers it seeks to influence.

Parents say their concerns center on children’s safety during the construction and operation of the facility.

The project’s proponents say Pasadena needs more research and development space to retain the companies that spin out of Caltech.

At the December hearing, the Design Commission voted 6-0 to continue review, directing the developer to study ways to reduce the building’s scale along its southern edge, which faces the school. Commissioner Marie-Claude Fares recused herself due to her Caltech affiliation.

The January 27 staff report recommends approval, finding the project meets zoning requirements and qualifies for a categorical environmental exemption. Studies prepared for the city found no significant impacts from traffic, noise, or air quality.

About 20 residents have submitted written comments ahead of Monday’s meeting, including multiple letters from Van Dyke, church members, and parents. The group has urged supporters to attend the 6:30 p.m. hearing at the Hale Building.

Nancy Moses, a principal at Trammell Crow, acknowledged the divided community at the December hearing: “We know we’re not going to please everyone.”

If the Design Commission approves concept design, the project would advance to final design review before the commission, then to the City Council for a final vote. Construction is anticipated to begin later in 2026.