During a City Council meeting held in January, the Pico Rivera City Council voted to approve the Mercury Project, a 255 unit mixed-use development located on a 2.8 acre site at 8825 Washington Boulevard, formerly the El Rodeo.
The project features a three -to-six-story apartment complex in a “wrap” configuration in which the apartments “wrap” around a parking structure. The project includes 4,785 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor facing the Pico Rivera Marketplace.
The 255 units will comprise 35 studio apartments, 159-one bedroom apartments, 57- two bedroom apartments, and four – three bedroom apartments. The project will also include 464 parking spaces of which 358 will be designated for residents, 32 for guest spaces and 74 for non-residential uses.
Residential amenities will include dog runs, decorative fountains, synthetic lawn games, and a roof deck with pool cabanas, tv, spa, game area and club room. In addition, there are several Community Benefits to the project. Benefits include short-term and long-term bicycle parking spaces, 47 electric vehicle charging stations, and a voluntary public benefit fee of $250,000 for public infrastructure and or safety.
The new project is in line with the City’s General Plan Housing Element. The Housing Element is one of the required State mandated General Plan Elements which has the purpose to identify and plan for the City’s existing and projected housing needs. The Housing Element identifies potential housing sites that can accommodate the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) number that is given to the City by the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) during each 8-year planning cycle. During this cycle, SCAG assigned the City 1,024 housing units and the City identified 69 sites within the City that could accommodate the RHNA, including the former El Rodeo site.
“The Mercury Project provides an opportunity for our City to deliver on State mandated housing requirements.” said City Manager Steve Carmona. “Not only are we meeting housing requirements but we are also supporting economic development with a mixed-use project that will provide many jobs and benefits for our community. The City looks forward to this $65 million dollar investment and the associated benefits to the area.”
Site preparation and construction will begin within the next year.
