The City of South Pasadena plans to rebuild two things before the end of 2027. One is the Arroyo Seco Golf Course on Lohman Lane. The other is the pair of intersections where Mission Street meets Pasadena Avenue and Arroyo Drive, which the City calls a key access point to Arroyo Seco Park. The golf course deal was approved in July. The intersection design hasn't been chosen yet, and residents get their say at a community meeting on Monday, October 5, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers at 1424 Mission Street.
That makes this fall the last season the Arroyo end of town will work the way it does now. It's also the only window in which one of the two projects is still being shaped in public.
The golf course already has its deal
On July 15, 2026, the City Council voted unanimously for a 30-year lease with Grass Clippings and Troon Golf to redevelop the Arroyo Seco Golf Course. The South Pasadenan reported the plans in its July 20 council coverage. They include a new 6,800-square-foot clubhouse with a standalone restaurant and a rebuilt, covered driving range that uses Top Tracer ball-tracking. The miniature golf course would grow to 18 holes with South Pasadena themes, and the course would get new turf, a new irrigation system, and LED lighting for night golf. The project totals roughly $16 million. The South Pasadena Review describes the split as up to $14.5 million from Grass Clippings plus a $1.5 million City contribution.
For regulars, the most practical detail is what happens to prices. According to the Review, main-course greens fees for South Pasadena residents would first rise by $1 to $3, and later increases would be tied to inflation and cost of living.
The timeline is less firm. The South Pasadenan reported that the course will stay open through the end of the year while the operators finish environmental reviews, with construction expected to start in the first quarter of 2027. The Review says the course should stay open for "most of 2026," and that demolition and construction will "likely" begin in that same quarter. As of today, no closure date for the course, range, or mini golf has been published, and neither has a reopening target. The course's own website still shows its 18-hole course, driving range, and nine-hole mini golf, open daily from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
The intersection has been "next year" before
Across Arroyo Drive, the intersection project is on its second try. In August 2022, City staff met the design consultant on site and spent several hours reviewing configurations in a 60 percent design. That design added better pedestrian crossings in every direction and bike lanes through Arroyo Drive, along Mission Street into Stoney Drive, and through Pasadena Avenue. An October 2022 update to the city's transportation commission said the plan was still to install it in 2023, as part of an earlier street improvement project.
That installation never happened. In May 2024, a staff report asked Council to set aside $900,000 for a broader version along Mission Street between Pasadena Avenue and Arroyo Drive. The scope covered bike lane connections, ADA ramps, wider sidewalks, right-turn-only lanes on some approaches, narrower traffic lanes, and restriping. Metro approved a Measure M Subregional Program grant for that $900,000 in construction funds in 2026. City materials don't say why the 2023 plan fell through. What they do show is a process that started over at the concept stage.
The City's project page explains why the corner needs work.
"The intersection at Pasadena Avenue and Mission Street currently operates with a single stop sign on the eastbound Mission Street approach, leaving northbound Pasadena Avenue traffic completely uncontrolled."
The two intersections sit only 200 feet apart, and City data show that nearly half of eastbound drivers go over the speed limit. The 2024 staff report adds that the corridor's curve and grade change make it hard for everyone using it. During school drop-off and pickup, the City says many young pedestrians and cyclists cross here with no dedicated walking or biking infrastructure.
In July 2026, the City hired Toole Design Group to develop concept alternatives. The options being studied include a new intersection layout, changes to stop control, ADA-compliant curb ramps, and narrower curbs and lanes to shorten crossings and slow traffic. Here is the City's posted schedule, which it says may change:
- Fall 2026: community outreach, then City Council chooses a design alternative
- Winter 2027: the City selects a design firm
- Spring 2027: final design is set
- Summer 2027: construction bid awarded and work begins
- Fall 2027: construction completed
The first step in that list is the October 5 meeting. The City announced the 5 p.m. start on September 22. The South Pasadenan's first notice listed 6 p.m., and the paper corrected it to 5 p.m. on September 30. If you come at 6, you'll miss most of it.
Why the two schedules matter together
The City lists golf facilities, stables, the tennis and racquetball center, a skate park, batting cages, and ball fields as parts of the Arroyo recreation area. It also names the Mission, Pasadena Avenue, and Arroyo Drive intersections as key access points to Arroyo Seco Park. If both projects stay on schedule, golf construction starts in early 2027 and intersection construction follows that summer. That means the Arroyo's biggest attraction and its main entrance from Mission Street would be under work in the same year.
Each project also depends on the other in a way. A golf course with a new restaurant, a covered range, and night lighting is built to draw visitors at more hours of the day. The intersection design that Council picks this fall will be what those visitors drive, walk, and bike through. So far, only the intersection project has a public meeting on the calendar where residents can respond to specific design options.
The Arroyo as it is, through the end of 2026
None of the places below has announced a closure. They're the Arroyo as it works right now, before either project breaks ground.
- Arroyo Seco Golf Course, 1055 Lohman Lane. The 18-hole par-3 course, driving range, and nine-hole mini golf. The course website says the last range bucket and mini golf sale is at 8 p.m., and the course is lit Thursday through Sunday until 8 p.m. The South Pasadenan reports that the mini golf will grow to 18 holes in the rebuild, so this fall is a good time to play the nine-hole version.
- Arroyo Park, 614 Stoney Drive. A 19.9-acre park with lit athletic fields, a playground, and picnic areas. It's used for Little League and softball, and for soccer in the fall.
- South Pasadena Batting Cages, 660 Stoney Drive. The City says the cages were renovated in 2024.
- Arroyo Seco Racquet Club, 1055 Lohman Lane. A members-only club with nine lit tennis courts and three squash courts, listed by the City as a separate facility from the golf course.
- Arroyo Woodland & Wildlife Nature Park. Three acres on Pasadena Avenue just before the York Boulevard Bridge. The upper entrance is on the 100 block of Pasadena Avenue, and the lower entrance is off Lohman Lane near the golf course parking lots. The park's August newsletter describes a micro-forest planted in February, plus volunteer work on the paths and a rain garden.
- San Pascual Stables, 221 San Pascual Avenue. A training and boarding facility that offers English riding lessons for beginners through advanced riders.
- Arroyo Seco Bike Path. The Arroyo Seco Foundation describes the path as running from the York Street Bridge near the stables down to the Avenue 43 exit in Los Angeles.
For more on everyday routes around town, our guide to walkable, car-light living in South Pasadena covers the Mission Street corridor east of here. Our South Pasadena summer post follows the same street from the station to Garfield Park. The City's project page is where schedule updates will appear once Council picks a design.
At Joy Realty Group, we follow South Pasadena's public works and park projects because they change how a block feels to live on, sometimes years before construction starts. If you'd like to talk through what the Arroyo changes could mean for your street or your home, we're glad to help. Schedule a consultation with our team.
