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COMPLIMENTARY COPY VOLUME 20, NO. 12
Edward James Olmos Visits Madison Elementary School BY STAFF WRITER
The north parcel, which is located at the northwest corner of Hill and Colorado, measures in at 127,961 square feet (2.95 acres) and was formally used by the car dealership Pasadena Ford. - Photo by Terry Miller
BY GUS HERRERA Recently, construction has been seemingly commonplace around Pasadena. If you drive around the city, you can see several vacant lots and some half-finished, ongoing projects. Like it or not, this development trend is showing no signs of slowing down. The City of Pasadena’s
Design Commission met this past Tuesday, March 22, in order to advise the city’s planning commission on a proposed development (PD) near the intersection of Colorado Boulevard and Hill Avenue, right next to Pasadena City College. The project would include two multi-story hotels, one on the north side of Colorado, the other on the south
side.
The north parcel, which is located at the northwest corner of Hill and Colorado, measures in at 127,961 square feet (2.95 acres) and was formally used by the car dealership Pasadena Ford. The parcel basically occupies the entire block from Hill to Holliston Avenue. That being said, most of the space is
made up of a large parking lot, but the buildings facing Colorado, the antique store at the corner of Holliston and the vacant, former showroom next door, are considered to have historical significance and thus will be implemented into the project’s design. This site would house a large full-service hotel with, “no more than 400 rooms
at 375,000 square feet, and 35,000 square feet of ground floor retail and commercial uses,” according to the staff report. The plans also call for two levels of subterranean parking (up to 700 parking spaces) accessible via a newly constructed alley on the north side of the block. SEE PAGE 12
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Academy Award®nominated actor Edward James Olmos visited Madison Elementary School on Tuesday, to celebrate the dedication of the school’s new mural. Olmos was joined by joined by Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) Superintendent Brian McDonald, Ed.D., Board of Education members, students, parents, teachers, and staff. Olmos also visited students in a fourth grade class who are participating in the year-long Latino Film Institute (LFI) Cinema Youth Project. The project-based learning program founded by Olmos provides a yearlong, immersive experience in the art of filmmaking that implements 21st century learning techniques in classrooms that support literacy, encourage creativity, and develop leadership skills amongst students. Madison fourth graders work with industry professionals to explore all areas of filmmaking, from developing ideas and writing scripts to production, editing and marketing. Students work in collaboration with their peers to deSEE PAGE 25