Eight more homes in South Pasadena, among dozens formerly owned by Caltrans as part of the failed 710 expansion project, will be listed for sale Tuesday, June 9.<\/p>\n
The properties were some of the hundreds Caltrans seized along the 710 corridor in the 1950s, 60s and 70s. They displaced thousands of residents in Pasadena, South Pasadena and El Sereno as the freeway project made way for an extension into Pasadena that was ultimately shelved.<\/p>\n
In South Pasadena, more than 60 properties were once seized for the now-abandoned freeway project.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis marks a significant milestone for the City of South Pasadena as these properties are returned to the residential market, creating opportunities for homeownership for both longtime community members and those looking to make South Pasadena their home,\u201d South Pasadena City Manager Todd Hileman said in a statement, noting a \u201ccollaboration\u201d with Dave Knight Real Estate Team of Keller Williams to market and sell the homes.<\/p>\n
The lots coming up for sale are at:<\/p>\n
1131 Columbia St., known as the historic Columbia House;
\n530 Orange Grove Ave.;
\n534 Orange Grove Ave.;
\n901 Bonita Drive;
\n1037 and 1039 Grevelia St.;
\n808 Valley View Road;
\n822 Valley View Road; and
\n540 Prospect Ave.<\/p>\n
The Columbia House is on the city\u2019s Inventory of Historic Resources, listed as a Craftsman built in 1910.<\/p>\n
The marketing of the homes follows gradual moves by cities in the region to get them into escrow, particularly in an era when there are not enough of them.<\/p>\n
In late 2024, five formerly Caltrans homes returned to the market in South Pasadena \u2013 four single-family homes and one multi-family lot a few blocks from South Pasadena\u2019s main retail area.<\/p>\n
This was made possible by Roberti Act and Senate Bill 381, authored by former Sen. Anthony Portantino and signed into law by the governor in September 2021, which allows the city of South Pasadena to buy vacant homes from Caltrans at the original acquisition price from the 1960s.<\/p>\n
The city can then sell the homes at market value, but the proceeds must be reinvested in affordable housing. In addition, for every historic home sold, the city is required to create three affordable housing units.<\/p>\n
The listings come after a long-fought battle by South Pasadena and other communities across the San Gabriel Valley.<\/p>\n
To construct the 6.3-mile extension of the 710 Freeway, which stretches from the Port of Los Angeles to its northern end near Alhambra at Valley Boulevard, Caltrans acquired around 450\u00a0 homes in the 1960s across El Sereno, South Pasadena and Pasadena. However, the City of South Pasadena, along with environmental groups, successfully blocked the project through legal challenges in the 1970s and 1980s.<\/p>\n
Caltrans would later propose an alternative plan to extend the freeway by building an underground tunnel connecting the 210\/134 freeways. Despite this effort, the extension project was ultimately scrapped in November 2018 by LA Metro, Caltrans and the state secretary of transportation.<\/p>\n
After the project\u2019s official cancellation, a string of historic houses were left in the area, many of which remain occupied by tenants who pay rent to Caltrans, but when tenants died or were evicted, Caltrans often\u00a0left the properties vacant\u00a0rather than renting them to new occupants.<\/p>\n
In July 2023, Pasadena considered acquiring 17 vacant single-family homes under SB 959, a law requiring the state to sell vacant homes from the failed 710 project back to the city to promote affordable housing. The Pasadena City Council unanimously approved the purchase and sale agreements with Caltrans for these 17 homes.<\/p>\n
By February of this year, Pasadena officials were touting that 13 of the 17 homes purchased by the city from Caltrans had been sold, netting $18.47 million to go toward affordable housing projects.<\/p>\n
On March 4, 2026, the South Pasadena City Council authorized moving forward with the purchase and sale agreements with Caltrans for the acquisition of multiple unoccupied properties.<\/p>\n
The city then collaborated with with the Realtors to market and sale the homes, which begins on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Official said open houses are forthcoming, a process that sparked large numbers of aspiring homebuyers when past homes have gone on the market.<\/p>\n