Transit oriented development (TOD) has finally arrived in Pasadena with the opening of the Del Mar Station, a mixed use development, on the Gold Line. Archstone Del Mar, designed by Moule & Polyzoides, is now ready for occupancy by real mass-transit loving people, who should be taking the Gold Line anytime they leave their building. If we see any of those people driving a car we're reporting them. The Star-News reports that Del Mar is just the first in a number of TOD projects being built around our railways.
In addition to Del Mar Station, which has opened 67 of its units and plans on opening the rest by the end of the year, complexes are being developed at Avenue 26, Sierra Madre Villa, Lincoln Heights, Heritage Square/Arroyo and Chinatown. "It's a build-it-and-they-will- come type thing," said MTA spokesman Dave Savaro.
Ten years ago, housing along the county's rail system would have been hard to market, said Rodger Moliere, MTA's executive officer of real estate property management and development.
Now people realize that their giant Hummers are killing the environment and gas prices are killing their paychecks, thus we expect to see more of you living on top of or next to light rail in the near future.
· Del Mar transit village coming alive [Pasadena Star-News]