4-story Downtown bldg approved

A proposed four-story mixed-use apartment/commercial building in Downtown Arcadia at the corner of First Avenue and Wheeler Street behind 24 Hour Fitness was unanimously approved tonight (Tuesday, June 24, 2015) by the City of Arcadia Planning Commission.

According to a staff report, the applicant, Alicia Barclay on behalf of DPP Arcadia, LLC, requested approval of the development that consists of three stories of residential units (38 apartment units) over 17,850 square feet of ground floor commercial uses (maximum of 1,500 sf per commercial space), and two levels of subterranean parking. The second level of underground parking was the result of objections by the Downtown Arcadia Improvement Association and others when the project was first proposed with only one level of parking that would not accommodate all the cars of the residential units and the workers and customers of the commercial spaces, let alone the displaced customers of 24 Hour Fitness and other nearby business that use the existing parking lot behind 24 Hour Fitness on which the 4-story development will be built. Another element was added that met the approval of the Planning Commission and the Downtown Association — a 2,730 square-foot public outdoor plaza that will be located between the proposed development and the 24-Hour Fitness building.

This is the first development designed to cater to the anticipated Gold Line train and station a few yards away from this building. The Gold Line train station will be dedicated August 22 but service will not begin until at least March of next year or possibly later due to delays in the delivery of extra rail passenger cars.

Developers say construction on the new building could begin early next year — perhaps March — with work thereafter expected to take about 15-months, putting the project on target for completion in about two years. It will be the first Mixed-Use project in Arcadia to be LEED certified at a Silver Level, meaning it complies with a high standard of evironmental-friendly building recommendations.

The staff report says the project will provide more than the required total of 340 parking spaces, including 112 on-site: eight surface parking spaces, 104 spaces below grade (47 spaces on the first level and 57 spaces on the second level), and 234 spaces in the existing parking structure. The eight surface parking spaces would be designated for customers of the commercial uses. Within the two levels of the below-grade parking spaces, 57 parking spaces would be reserved for the residents of the Project, 19 spaces would be reserved for guests of the residents, and 28 spaces would be available to the public. Additional parking for the proposed project is to be available through a reciprocal parking easement in the adjacent, existing, three-level, 234-space parking structure next to 24 Hour Fitness on Santa Clara Avenue, which sits on property owned by the same company. A total of 346 parking spaces are to be provided for the new Project and 24-Hour Fitness, which exceeds the required amount by six spaces.

The west half of the development will be only three stories to provide more of a visual transition from the east and allow more light in the courtyard area.

The Project also includes a curb extension at the corner of Wheeler Avenue and First Avenue to expand the sidewalk at that location to facilitate additional on-street parking along First Avenue.

The residential component will occupy the second, third, and fourth floors of the proposed building, and will consist of 27 one-bedroom units, and 11 two-bedroom units. Five of the two-bedroom units will be two-story units (Units 7–11). The apartments vary in size from 880 square feet to 1,464 square feet. All of the units will have a private deck or balcony ranging in size from 50 square feet to 468 square feet, and there will be a common courtyard with landscaping and barbeque facilities for the residents.

The exterior of the building will include brick veneer and stucco walls, with projecting awnings and painted metal panes and doorways to highlight the ground floor commercial spaces. The Wheeler Avenue frontage will feature a four-story high wall area between the office and retail spaces that is to incorporate public art (e.g., a painted mural). On the west elevation, metal latticing on the exterior wall will create visual interest and texturing of the façade. The canopies, posts, and railings are to be decorated with ornamental iron work. As shown on the attached site and floor plans and on the rendering below, the Project is designed to activate the street frontage by orienting the retail components towards First Avenue to access the Gold Line station.