(May 4, 2004) The proposed Town Center should be welcomed with open arms Most everyone agrees that Glendale is not the hot spot on a Friday or Saturday night. While the city has a few movie theaters, retail stores and eateries, the environment itself does not attract audiences as does the Burbank Village or Old Pasadena—or better yet, the Grove. Take the Glendale Marketplace, with a mere 4-theater Mann and a skinny strip of restaurants. It is no surprise a development idea was proposed and approved for a Glendale Town Center by the Grove’s developer Rick Caruso. According to Caruso Affiliated, its official name is Americana at Brand. The city has said that Caruso’s project idea will include 338 units of housing, 475,000 square feet of retail space, and a 1.85-acre park that will cost the city an approximated $77.1 million. The business terms agreed upon by Caruso and the Glendale City Council, however, is $264.2 million, according to the News-Press. Not only will Americana at Brand be a recreational hot spot for people to relax and enjoy themselves, it also provides housing and source of revenue for the city. Councilman Rafi Manoukian was quoted in the L.A. Times: “It’s been a blight in the center of downtown, and this is a great way of rejuvenating the area and generating revenue for the city, as well as the surrounding businesses.” According to Caruso Affiliated, the project had been hindered due to opposition concerning the closure of Harvard and Orange Streets, the size of the park and a few financial concerns. What are a few detours when looking at the bigger picture? As for the size of the park, the bigger, the better. The bigger, the more room there is for activity to take place. According to the Glendale Town Center website, “Residents will be able to read in the park, watch big-screen movies under the stars and enjoy each other’s company in the center of their home town.” From an economic point of view, the project itself will bring in enough revenue to cover its development costs. According to the Town Center website, Caruso has already inked 12 tenants for The Americana at Brand. Notable businesses include the Cheesecake Factory, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf and a Turner Classic Movies retail store. In addition, Caruso is negotiating with more businesses such as Urban Outfitters and Fox Sports Grill, which will include a broadcast studio. Americana at Brand is a much-needed addition to the Glendale area. So why fight it, you should be delighted! — Sarah Kwon Americana will be disastrous to the community and harm small businesses Just imagine: living in a community where shoppers, teenagers, or whoever may be out until midnight, parade around your neighborhood enjoying themselves, when you can’t even get a decent night of sleep. Is this the “community dream” as described on the Glendale Town Center website? The Glendale Town Center will devalue the meaning of a community and be disastrous to the Glendale’s economy. With projects like The Grove, near Hollywood, the argument is that it will give a boost to the economy. But the hidden fact is that local vendors will be hurt. Elsa Aranda, the manger of ZaZa Shoes in the Glendale Galleria said that she is worried about the project because it will take away business, further lowering the store’s revenue with “this bad economy.” Stores in the mall are not the only ones that will be affected by the project. The Glendale Marketplace, a popular hangout for teenagers, is only a few blocks away from the project’s location. With the project’s plan to build a 16-theater movie theater, what will become of the Mann Exchange on Maryland and the Mann 4 at the Marketplace? A focus area of the project is that it will be a community within a community. It will be a combination of apartment complexes, stores, restaurants and movie theaters, not to mention the giant water fountain in its center, a competition to the Marketplace’s frog fountain where children enjoy leaping through the water. With this different community, will the value of strolls down the block with the pet dog and jogging to the park be forgotten? Another argument against the project comes from Glendale’s Historic Preservation Committee. At last month’s project board meeting, the committee expressed its concern for the lampposts on Brand Blvd., Fire Station 21 and the Pacific Bell Company. The significance of Fire Station 21 was that it was built in 1929 and was up for registration with the board in 1996. Is the significance of historic buildings supposed to be forgotten or ignored? The project proposed in August of 2003 is expected to cost an estimated 264 million dollars. Isn’t this just a lovely way to spend money when the number of homeless people is growing? — Christine Yi