"We have here in Pasadena had a vision for growth over the last several decades," Pasadena Mayor Thomas Schoenbein said.
Mayor Schoenbein said the new entertainment district could help provide that growth.
"What we're looking at is bringing new hotels, new restaurants, and also bringing in a higher quality of life for our citizens and surrounding area here," he said.
It comes after approval of a $370,000 contract by the economic development corporation board on Thursday night.
Director Arturo Marquez said it will allow the contractor to complete just the first step of developing a master plan and a study on what can occupy the space.
"In the design, the $370,000 covers architecture design, which is usually like land space and all that stuff. It's a feasibility study to determine what businesses want to set up shop there, but also what are going to be successful," Pasadena Economic Development Corporation Director Arturo Marquez said.
Marquez said while the city owns the 200+ acre property, people who live in Pasadena will help decide what goes there.
"The whole development portion does require community input, so we will be asking the public to participate in some of these, which we call charrettes, which are just public input meetings," Marquez said.
"This is our residents putting forth their hard-earned money to increase their quality of life," Schoenbein said.
The mayor also said the development is expected to bring new tax dollars to the city.
Marquez added that the master plan should take about four months to complete; next comes construction, but it will still take a few years before the entertainment district is up and running.