Market-Rate apartments and retail coming to TOD, smart growth project
Santa Ana, CA, February 3, 2017 – This month, El Monte Gateway celebrates a significant milestone in its ambitious transit-oriented development (TOD) realization. On Thursday, February 16, 2017 at 9:30 a.m., SVA Architects, the City of El Monte, and the entire El Monte Gateway development team will celebrate the groundbreaking of a Mixed-Use Apartment Community, also known as Parcel 4. The project is composed of market-rate apartments with ground floor commercial and retail uses; this new community is a key component of the El Monte Gateway Master Plan – a walkable and transit friendly district with linkage to bike trails along Rio Hondo River. The Groundbreaking ceremony, presided over by Mayor André Quintero, will recognize a major milestone in the project which has become a regional and national model for BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) and smart growth design.
Transit Oriented Development
El Monte Gateway is adjacent to the El Monte Station, a major regional bus transfer center serving 22,000 Metro, Foothill Transit, El Monte Transit and Greyhound ridership daily, with the potential to accommodate nearly twice that capacity. The new $80 million, state-of-the-art facility is the largest bus facility west of Chicago. Busses from the El Monte Station have a dedicated freeway lane into the heart of downtown Los Angeles. The BRT center helped catalyze new development in the City of El Monte, including the El Monte Gateway TOD project. Located at the nexus of major employment centers, the project is 8 minutes from San Gabriel Valley, 12 minutes from Cal State Los Angeles campus, 15 minutes from USC Medical Center, 23 minutes to downtown Los Angeles.
Design Aesthetic
El Monte Gateway’s urban design leverages SVA’s extensive experience in TOD, including Celadon at 9th & Broadway, winner of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) 2016 Global Award for Excellence. The highly anticipated Mixed-Use Apartment Community at El Monte Gateway features 25,000 square feet of commercial retail and 208 market-rate apartments. The four-story building, which sits on 2.33 acres, will have two levels of parking (one underground), and is anticipated to achieve LEED certification. The project features vibrant colors and an urban design that will engage the city context. Generous sidewalks will encourage pedestrian usage and community interaction. Envisioned with large outdoor dining and sitting areas adjacent to retail, these amenities will further activate the project and the TOD friendly and walkable neighborhood. The project will also include new connections to the existing regional bike path, as well as a new local pathway system for pedestrians and bicycles. Landscaping will be sustainable, featuring native plants, efficient irrigation systems, and automatic controls.
Ernesto Vasquez, FAIA, Partner & CEO of SVA Architects, states, “We are very proud to be a part of the El Monte Gateway Master Plan. Not only is it sustainable and adjacent to BRT, it incorporates all the principals of smart growth which make livable, healthy, and walkable communities for current and future generations to enjoy.”
The Mixed-Use Apartment Community is built by the Public Private Partnership of City of El Monte and Grapevine Development; it will be complemented with future developed parcels. The project was designed by SVA Architects Inc., and financed by Romspen, one of the largest non-bank commercial mortgage lenders in Canada. This project was made possible by financing from the voter-approved Proposition 1C Infill Infrastructure Grant Program through the California Department of Housing and Community Development.
About SVA Architects
Founded in 2003, SVA Architects has become one of the Country’s most innovative and respected design and planning organizations. The award-winning firm specializes in urban planning, architecture, and interior design of public, private, and mixed-use projects. Among the firm’s portfolio are civic, educational, residential, commercial and mixed-use developments. SVA Architects values institutional and public environments as the foundation of a community and the backdrop against which we live, learn, work, worship, and play. The company is headquartered in Santa Ana with offices in Oakland, San Diego, and Honolulu. For more information, visit www.sva-architects.com.
