Transit-oriented development: Puerta del Sol

The next stop on my tour of transit-oriented development in the Southland was a massive complex of condos and apartments that opened in the last couple of years next to the Gold Line's Avenue 26 station in Lincoln Heights. My goal is to see what exactly is getting built in the name of TODs -- a lot of luxury units or perhaps something that would lure Joe Blow back from the distant 'burbs.

The complex is known as Puerta del Sol, although that's just the condo part of the project. There are also three apartment complexes: Tesoro del Valle, Flores del Valle and Camino del Oro (Road of the Gold!), which is for seniors. All together, there are several hundred rental units.

Right off the bat, I got a big surprise: In Tesoro del Valle -- i.e. Treasure of the Valley -- I found apartment buildings that looked out on the back of a billboard owned by Regency Outdoors. More on that below.

The developers were AMCAL and Phoenix Realty Group, which built the project at the site of an old furniture factory. The city of Los Angeles was involved, with its Housing Department offering down- payment assistance to some condo residents. It is also worth noting that the city's pension board, known as LACERS, in 2006 invested $20 million in Genesis Workforce Housing, a fund controlled by Phoenix.

A few more details:

Developer claim from website: "At Puerta del Sol, we are bringing family lifestyles home to one of the world’s most exciting cities, and we’re doing it with high-quality urban housing at prices that compete with suburban options and all but eliminate the commute. Give yourself and your family more time and energy for living. For being together. For enjoying community life."

Transit-oriented development: What it costs (Part II)

In case you missed it, I wrote earlier today on the blog that I'm going to begin a series of posts on how much it costs to live in the various transit-oriented developments that have been built or are under construction in the Southland.

First up is the Stuart at Sierra Madre Villa, a 188-unit apartment complex at the corner of Foothill and Madre in Pasadena. It sits next to the parking garage for the Gold Line terminus, with the 210 Freeway and the light rail line on the opposite side of the garage.

Cost: The cheapest apartment rents $1,835 for a 585-square-foot junior one-bedroom, one-bath that is called "the Huntington." A one-bedroom, one-bath runs from $1,995 to $2,095, with sizes between 623 and 792 square feet. The least expensive two-bedroom unit rents for $2,440 and the priciest unit -- called "the Fair Oaks" goes for $3,350 a month and includes a loft. It covers 1,205 square feet. No units were set aside for low-income earners.

Is transit-oriented development affordable? (Part I)

Urban planners have long decried suburban sprawl as wasteful and a primary cause for traffic. It makes no sense, they say, to build communities in which everyone has to drive everywhere. Some studies have even found that people in the 'burbs tend to be fatter than those in cities. Why? People in cities walk more.

The remedy that planners offer: new urbanism or smart growth. The idea is to build denser neighborhoods that can support neighborhood businesses. Such neighborhoods should be near mass transit -- so not everyone has to drive. (The photo at right shows NoHo Commons, a new building that's going up near the subway stop in North Hollywood).

Here's a video from the Congress for New Urbanism, arguing that such neighborhoods are also a remedy for climate change.

In the Southland, perhaps the most visible "smart growth" strategy is transit-oriented developments, also known as TODs. There is an increasing number of apartments, condominiums and town homes popping up near bus stops and train stations. Metro (also known as the MTA), the region's largest transit agency, has been selling development rights at its stations and many of those projects have been completed or are being built.