A Call for Transparency and Stewardship at 1364 E. Green Street
Presidents Rosenbaum and Jayawardhana, Provost Tirrell, and members of the Caltech Faculty,
For over a century, the California Institute of Technology and the community of Pasadena have grown side by side. We are a city that takes immense pride and joy in your mission and success. We are your neighbors, your alumni, your faculty, and your students. We write to you today as Building a Better Pasadena — a coalition of hundreds of residents and advocates — because we believe that a single project now risks damaging the deep trust that has existed for generations.
We support and applaud Caltech’s revered mission of scientific discovery. Yet, the proposed “Innovation Center” on the corner of Green Street and Holliston Avenue raises troubling questions about stewardship, transparency, and the influence of outside commercial interests.
An Abandonment of Community Responsibility
It is a matter of public record that the project developer, Trammell Crow, submitted conceptual plans that failed to adequately acknowledge the project’s immediate adjacency to the St. Philip the Apostle School, its historic Church, and the PCC Child Development Center.
By presenting this 79-foot high, 93,539-square-foot structure proposed on a mere 41,573 square feet as “contextual,” while omitting the existence of the children playing just feet from its walls, the developer has done a disservice to Caltech’s reputation and may put at risk the well-being of the youngest and most vulnerable.
The decision to seek a CEQA exclusion, thereby exempting this project from a full environmental impact assessment, represents a rejection of the rigorous inquiry for which Caltech stands.
Why avoid a comprehensive review of the possible safety impacts of a large, multi-lab building on the hundreds of young children directly next door? The City of Pasadena previously signaled that R&D use were not appropriate for residential neighborhoods when it declined to pursue them on vacant Pasadena Unified School District school sites. Should St. Philip — a school serving 550 students, where 20% of students are on financial aid — be treated differently?
On the Influence of Commercial Interests
The community is also concerned by the apparent commercial nature of this project. Though marketed as an R&D facility to support and house startup ventures emerging from Caltech labs, in reality that use will represent only a minority of the building’s occupancy. It has not escaped public notice that the proposed principal tenant will be a large biotechnology company, raising concerns about the project’s true purpose.
We must ask: Is the safety of 550 schoolchildren being traded for a real estate development serving commercial gain? By choosing to place a high-density commercial laboratory in a sensitive school and residential area, Caltech is prioritizing commercial convenience over community safety and transparency. Put simply, this is “profits over children”.
Caltech’s core mission is to expand human knowledge and benefit society through research integrated with education. Prioritizing the requirements of an external biotechnology company over the local community does not square with that mission.
A Path Forward
This letter is not an act of opposition to science, but rather a request for more science — a common-sense appeal for a thorough environmental impact study. As a data-driven institute, you understand why such analysis is essential.
We urge you to pause. We call on Caltech to voluntarily commission a Full Environmental Impact Report (EIR) to restore transparency and the respect that your historic role in Pasadena community deserves. A project that has drawn opposition from over 1,400 petitioners and hundreds of official letters is not a “categorical exemption” — it is a community crisis.
Let us ensure that our shared future is built on collaboration, respect, and safety so that both important communities continue to thrive for decades to come.
With hope for our shared future,
Building a Better Pasadena Representing neighbors, alumni, faculty, staff, students, and 1,400+ petitioners (abetterpasadena.org).
Note: The Pasadena City Council will hold a public hearing and vote on the 1364 E. Green Street project on March 2nd at 6pm in Pasadena City Hall (Council Chamber Room S249, 100 N. Garfield Ave). Members of the public are welcome to attend. Learn more at: abetterpasadena.org/take-action.
The building, under development by Trammell Crow Company, is being planned to support, house, and foster local start-ups in biotechnology. (Image: Caltech Planning, Design & Construction)