Historic South Pasadena homes may soon be for sale following failed 710 Freeway project
Five homes that sat vacant for decades to make way for the now-defunct 710 Freeway extension project may soon be on the market, as the owner, Caltrans, is in escrow with the City of Pasadena.
The houses are among about 500 homes in El Sereno, South Pasadena, Pasadena and Alhambra that were acquired by the California Department of Transportation in the 1960s as part of an abandoned plan to complete the last leg of the 710 Freeway. The extension project was formally ended by legislation signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2019.
The sale of the five historic properties is pending. Caltrans officials said the sale is contingent on the approval of the California Transportation Commission, and once that is approved, Caltrans will complete the sale to the city of South Pasadena. In 2021, Newsom signed Senate Bill 381, legislation by state Sen. Anthony Portantino (D-La Cañada Flintridge) that allowed the city of South Pasadena to buy the vacant homes and sell them at market rate to with proceeds of the sale to be used for constructing or acquiring affordable housing units within South Pasadena.
The Dave Knight Real Estate Team of Keller Williams Realty is listing the five South Pasadena properties, noting on its website that the homes will "likely not qualify for financing, as utilities are not on."
Four of the South Pasadena properties listed for sale are single family homes, while the fifth is a multi-family lot with three separate bungalows.
According to the real estate agency, restrictions prevent in-person viewing of the properties, but virtual tours of each home are being offered.