City officials have said the two projects — both built by Advanced Development & Investment Inc. — will help transform the southernmost section of Glendale into a bustling residential area.
The two developments join the 44-unit Metro Loma affordable rental project two blocks to the north, which opened last year, and Cerritos Park across the street.
Several major commercial projects — including the adaptive reuse of the historic Seeley’s Furniture building on the corner of Glendale Boulevard — are also in the pipeline for the area, which serves as the gateway into Atwater Village.
“This whole area is really going to change dramatically,” said Peter Zovak, Glendale’s deputy housing director.
At the same time, Mayor Ara Najarian said the addition of hundreds of affordable housing units would help meet the ongoing demand for low-cost housing in “a safe and clean environment.”
About 100 applicants applied for every vacancy available in the Glendale City Lights complex, or about 6,800 people. Residents were chosen through a lottery system and moved into the building earlier this year, officials said.
Residents, who must meet federal income requirements, pay rents ranging from $459 to $1,054 per month. The projects had faced some opposition from nearby residents who argued that the new apartments would aggravate traffic and parking problems.
But city officials countered that a shared underground parking structure would be more than adequate and pointed to the proximity of the Glendale Amtrak/Metrolink Station and a throng of bus stops.
Leonora Pitts, who co-chairs the Atwater Village Neighborhood Council, agreed that the hundreds of additional residents would likely not affect traffic much.
Pitts said she and other community activists are more concerned about the planned Mitaa plaza development at 435 Los Feliz Road. The proposed four-story, 163,090-square-foot commercial building could add to an already clogged traffic situation on Los Feliz Boulevard west of San Fernando.
“That’s real traffic. That’s commerce traffic,” she said. “With the Costco right there, we can’t support any more traffic.”
