In case you haven't been to downtown Glendale lately, a huge construction project is underway between the Glendale Galleria and Brand Boulevard. The developer is Rick Caruso, creator of the hugely popular The Grove next door to The Farmers Market in the Fairfax district of Los Angeles.
After Glendale voters approved the project in September 2004, the last of several lawsuits trying to block the project was defeated in December 2005. The pace of construction really picked up this summer, and the project is progressing at full speed, with a promised completion in April of next year.
According to publicity by Caruso's company,
The Americana at Brand is a $264.2 million mixed-use project set on 15.5 acres that includes a two-acre park surrounded by a pedestrian promenade, fountains and outdoor seating and gathering places. It will feature 475,000 square feet for retail, dining and entertainment uses with 338 residential units.
I was walking from the Glendale Central Library to a restaurant just south of the construction site (about four short blocks) a few weeks ago, and access along Colorado Boulevard, a major thoroughfare in the city of Glendale, has become a nightmare for both pedestrians and for vehicle traffic.
My fellow blogger Tim McGarry wrote in January about his experience visiting The Grove for an evening out.
This is the “urban fortress” approach to retailing, with a barrier erected against the street and the surrounding neighborhood.
[snip]
This is an island, an enclave, an imposition on a neighborhood, a walled and guarded traffic magnet that stands apart.
When I was trying to navigate my way around the Glendale project a few weeks ago, these observations seemed even more true in Glendale, with high walls and no visible entry point along Central Avenue and Colorado Boulevard, and minimal effort to integrate into the downtown Glendale neighborhood where the project will be located.
Caruso's newest version of the Grove is coming to Glendale next year, and no doubt it will be as wildly successful as his version in the Fairfax district. But I really hope that most visitors don't arrive in their cars, park in Caruso's parking lot, and never venture out into the streets of Glendale beyond, where they will find locally-owned shops, theaters like The Alex, and remnants of a small-town atmosphere.
