Making Housing and Community Happen will spotlight Pasadena's new Black Legacy District and a 133-unit affordable housing project at its eighth annual celebration Saturday, Nov. 7.

The event runs 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. at Fellowship Hall, First United Methodist Church of Pasadena, 500 E. Colorado Blvd. Registration costs $30, with free or reduced-rate admission available by emailing [email protected].

The program comes five weeks after the City Council voted 7-0 on Sept. 29 to approve the Fair Oaks–Orange Grove Specific Plan, which created the Black Legacy District along the North Fair Oaks corridor in northwest Pasadena. Mayor Victor Gordo recused himself because he owns a home near the plan area, Pasadena Now reported.

The district honors Northwest Pasadena's Black history through public art, signs and gathering places while supporting locally owned businesses. It extends north of Washington Boulevard to the city boundary beyond Montana Street, according to the council's approval.

The Sept. 29 vote followed a standing-room-only meeting where several speakers urged the council to approve the designation. Councilmember Tyron Hampton's motion, seconded by Councilmember Justin Jones, added directions to seek funding for banners, crosswalk improvements and decorative wraps for traffic-control utility boxes.

The vote allocated no new funding.

A public art team associated with Making Housing and Community Happen is soliciting designs for streetlight banners it plans to install beginning in January 2027, the organization said in an Oct. 29 announcement.

Three advocates honored

The group plans to give its John J. Kennedy award to Michelle White for more than 35 years of work on affordable housing, fair housing and tenants' rights in Pasadena.

Two other honorees round out the program. Shawn Morrissey, whom the group describes as a formerly unhoused Pasadena resident who became a homeowner, advocates housing-first programs through Union Station Homeless Services. The Rev. Victor Cyrus-Franklin, pastor of Holman United Methodist Church, helped advance 60 affordable housing units on the Inglewood United Methodist Church campus, where he previously served, according to the organization.

Rosemead Boulevard project in focus

Keynote speaker Greg Comanor, a developer involved with Elysian Housing's Rosemead Family Apartments project, will address the gathering. The project at 600 N. Rosemead Blvd. in East Pasadena would convert an existing two-story office building into 51 units and construct a new five-story, 82-unit building. Of the 133 planned homes, 131 would be affordable and two reserved for managers.

Elysian Housing purchased the property for $13.4 million, L.A. Business First reported, as cited by The Real Deal. The development is planned to house low- and moderate-income families, special-needs residents and people affected by the 2025 wildfires, broker Guillermo Olaiz said in that report.

Anthony Manousos, a co-founder of Making Housing and Community Happen, is scheduled to speak about affordable family housing and school enrollment. Pasadena high school student and group intern Karina Toro will discuss her family's experience living in affordable housing.

The Fair Oaks–Orange Grove Specific Plan covers more than 170 acres and replaces a plan adopted in 2002. It establishes four named subareas: Robles, Arboleda, Robinson and the Black Legacy District. The Robinson District honors Pasadena residents Mack and Jackie Robinson.

The group is seeking streetlight banner designs and plans to begin installation in January 2027. Residents can register for the Nov. 7 celebration through the organization’s registration page or call 626-993-7958.