Shoppers try on new Marshalls for size

Discount clothing retailer Marshalls filled one of downtown Glendale’s most prominent vacancies when it opened on Thursday, with shoppers bustling about in the previously long-vacant former Borders store.

The prime location on the southeast corner of Broadway and Brand Boulevard is especially notable for its unique glass-front design. Before Marshalls started moving into the space in June, the location had sat vacant since the shuttering of Borders in April 2011.

The two-story, 29,557-square-foot store attracted many shoppers on its opening day who were searching for bargain prices on name brands.

Mauro Farfan, who works down the street from the new store, was browsing through the jeans selection.

“They have the designer brands at a good price,” he said.

Visiting the store for the second time on opening day, Lilit Hovhannisyan was buying storage bins.

Earlier in the day, she was there purchasing items for her family.

“I got a little bit of everything — a winter jacket for my husband and clothes for my kids,” she said.

Sharon Mann Garrett, principal economic development officer for the city, said that it was a success for Glendale to have Marshalls’ move into the space, where it complements the new Bloomingdale’s, which will open in the Glendale Galleria later this year.

“We can’t wait for Bloomingdale’s to open across the street and see that cross-traffic happen,” she said. “We have so much retail here that it behooves us to have a good mix of retail [price points].”

Mann Garrett said that the city had been closely monitoring the space even before the closure of Border’s because of its prominent location, and had worked with the property owner to facilitate development of the space once a tenant was found.

The new store represents further investment in Glendale’s retail environment by Marshalls’ parent corporation, Framingham, Mass.-based The TJX Companies Inc.

In addition to a Marshalls in Montrose, Glendale is home to a HomeGoods store and a T.J.Maxx, both owned by TJX, making the new store its fourth business in the city.

Mann Garrett said that seeing a company like TJX invest so much in Glendale showed the strength of the city’s retail environment.

“Logically speaking, it must speak to the strength of Glendale as a retail destination,” she said. “For them to invest this much in Glendale lets us know that the smart money is on Glendale.”

Marshalls representatives could not be reached for comment on Thursday.

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