‘Old Town’ District Proposed for Downtown

Glendale officials on Tuesday revealed plans to create an “old town” shopping district in the downtown redevelopment zone.

It would be at the southern end of the zone, just north of Colorado Street. It would be formed by expanding a two-block renovation project that is now under way.

The shopping district would have low-rise buildings with boutiques and cafes. Pedestrians would be able to stroll on sidewalks and passageways alongside the Glendale Galleria shopping mall.

The district would be “a colorful, festive, enjoyable place to be,” a city design consultant told members of the Glendale Redevelopment Agency during a study session Tuesday.

Officials are proposing that an area called the Exchange, bounded by Brand Boulevard on the west and Louise Street on the east, Wilson Avenue on the north and Broadway on the south, be extended further south to Harvard Street to take in another two-block area.

Much of the proposed expansion area is paved over with surface parking lots or contains buildings that are badly deteriorated, vacant and beyond repair.

The city is proposing to revitalize the area by renovating some of the buildings and replacing others with new one-, two- and three-story structures resembling the architecture of several decades ago. A variety of proposals are under consideration.

Some proposals call for incorporating residential housing into the plan or constructing a medium-height structure, such as a seven-story office building, at the corner of Brand and Broadway.

All of the proposals would exempt property owned by the Glendale Presbyterian Church at Harvard and Louise, the renovated California Federal Bank and two adjoining buildings at 142-158 S. Brand Blvd. and the new, three-story structure at Broadway and Maryland Avenue.

The expansion would extend the new landscaping and brick-paving scheme along Maryland south from Broadway to Harvard.

Officials are proposing to install a pedestrian walkway and a plaza in the mid-block area south of Broadway, similar to the construction and renovation under way north of Broadway. New multilevel parking facilities also would be built in the expanded district.

A developer years ago had proposed to level the two-block area on the east side of Brand between Broadway and Harvard for a high-rise office and condominium project, but the plan fell through because of public opposition and economic conditions.

In the past, Glendale redevelopment officials had frowned on the idea of renovating old buildings. They preferred that entire blocks be leveled for high-rise offices.

That attitude has changed in recent years. Construction under way at the Exchange, which combines renovation of some old buildings with the erection of others, is the first large-scale renovation project that has been permitted in the redevelopment area since the zone was formed in 1972.

“We’ve been hearing comments from throughout the community that we have too many high-rise buildings,” said Agency Chairman Larry Zarian during the study session Tuesday. “We want to make sure that those blocks, for the time being anyway, retain the old-town concept.”

Frank Fuller of ELS Design Group, a city consultant, said the idea was developed in 1982 when the city adopted design guidelines for the redevelopment zone, a 34-block area roughly bounded by Louise Street and Central Avenue, Glenoaks Boulevard and Colorado Street.

The plan designates a financial district of high-rise offices to the north between Lexington Drive and Glenoaks Boulevard; a central mixed-use district, possibly with a luxury hotel, performing arts and entertainment center and public open space between Wilson and Lexington; and the retail district, including the Glendale Galleria, to the south between Wilson and Colorado Street.

Officials said expansion of the Exchange fits the plan.

But the proposal was met with some skepticism Tuesday from an unexpectedly large turnout of about 50 property owners, developers and others who crammed into the study session, held in a City Hall conference room.

One critic, who did not identify himself, said he is worried that his property will be taken from him. He asked agency members if his own desire to stay in business in Glendale counts or if property owners can expect to be “all of a sudden hit--down and out?”

Zarian said the city is willing to work with property owners to renovate or rebuild. “This is a public input period,” he said. “It is not the end. The project is not going to start tomorrow.”

Officials are considering three different proposals for the expanded area: one that calls for renovation of most of the existing buildings, with the least amount of new building; another that provides for maximum commercial development of the area by replacing most of the existing buildings, and a third plan that proposes a mix of new commercial development with private townhouse or other residential development.

Agency members on Tuesday offered a variety of comments on the proposals, which will be incorporated into further proposals to be presented in about a month, said Redevelopment Director Jeanne Armstrong.