Caruso seeks to expand Americana at Brand

Americana at Brand developer Rick Caruso wants to expand his 15.5-acre retail center and is gunning for two adjacent properties to do it.

Caruso is angling to acquire the Golden Key Hotel at 123 W. Colorado Blvd. and an adjacent building. He would replace them with 60,000 to 140,000 square feet of new retail space, landscaping and a plaza.

“It’s an important last piece of the puzzle because it really rounds out that corner there,” Caruso said. “We have $400 million invested in the Americana. We would like to invest more in Glendale, and I would like to have those properties that are not now part of the Americana become a part of it.”

Caruso said the improvements would remove blight, raise $80 million in annual sales revenue and create jobs. And the Americana would pay all of the estimated $50 million for the changes.

In a letter to the Redevelopment Agency, Caruso pointed out that “while other projects in Glendale are stalled or have simply died, we are prepared to invest more, and do it now.”

Caruso’s efforts to buy the properties have so far failed, according to city documents.

But the city may be able to use the power of eminent domain to acquire the properties, as it did with nearby buildings in paving the way for the Americana several years ago.

Ray Patel, owner of the 55-room Golden Key, said the plan is “another distraction” in a history of tense relations with the city and Caruso Affiliated.

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