Eyesore Near Rose Bowl to Be Cleared for Homes

The City of Pasadena announced plans Monday to build 48 townhomes at the site of an abandoned gas station and wrecking yard outside the Rose Bowl.

The project, to be called Rosewalk, is a joint venture between the city’s redevelopment agency and the Olson Co., a private Seal Beach development firm, officials said.

Homes ranging in price from $150,000 to $180,000 will fill the four-acre piece of prime real estate between Lincoln Avenue and Mountain Street that stood as an eyesore for at least eight years, said Diane Gaynor, a spokeswoman for the project.

As a condition of the development, 11 of the Rosewalk townhomes will be set aside for the city’s Homeownership Opportunities Program, an assisted housing program that provides loan assistance to first-time home buyers, said Jim Wong, a city project manager.

groundbreaking is set for May 23, and a job fair is expected two days later to attract local subcontractors who may want to bid on the project, Gaynor said.