03 Sep Glendale News-Press: Caruso Plans Retail Project at Edge of Downtown Glendale
Americana at Brand developer expects to build one-story, five-tenant structure.
By Arin Mikailian, [email protected]
The developer of the Americana at Brand has filed an application to build a one-story building for retail use and restaurants across from the outdoor mall on the edge of downtown Glendale.
The project is the latest effort this year by Caruso Affiliated toward expanding its presence in the area.
Plans call for a commercial building at 238 S. Brand Blvd. — where the major artery meets Colorado Street — and room for five tenants, said case planner Roger Kiesel.
“This plan will further activate Brand Boulevard with exciting street-front retail, in a location that has been vacant for decades,” said Liz Jaeger, vice president of public relations for Caruso Affiliated.
The lot is situated next to the 1920s-era Masonic Temple, a nine-story structure Caruso Affiliated bought earlier this year and is in the process of restoring as office space.
Philip Lanzafame, the city’s community development director, said construction on the long-vacant lot next to the temple will add to the list of things visitors can do downtown.
“Any time you can create and continue the pedestrian interest is a good thing,” he said. “Business will feed off business and provide for more opportunities for people to enjoy something else in the downtown.”
As for having a one-story structure next to the Masonic Temple — where some of its office space will be leased by commercial real estate company CBRE — Lanzafame said the lower height will only further help the nearly 90-year-old building stand out.
“It will allow the Masonic Temple to be prominent and not get lost … You’ll have the building pop. It is the focal piece of that block,” he said.
Jaeger said tenants will be announced in the coming months.
Construction on the vacant lot is slated to start by the end of the year and wrap up by next summer, she said.
Kiesel said because the size of the proposed commercial structure is smaller than a cap outlined in the Downtown Specific Plan, it will only need approval by Lanzafame to move forward.
The vacant lot had only seen activity about once a year when it used to house a pumpkin patch for Halloween up to a few years ago.
As for the Masonic Temple, CBRE is expected to move in by the end of the year, and a lease is being finalized with a restaurant on the ground floor, Jaeger said.
Source: Glendale News-Press