GLENDALE : City May Establish District for Cinemas

Inspired by the active night life in Pasadena, Santa Monica and other communities that “cluster” movie theaters in a central location, Glendale is drafting an ordinance that would permit new cinemas to be built only along Brand Boulevard.

Glendale already has two multiplex cinemas in the downtown area--the Mann 8 Theaters and the Glendale Central Cinemas--but both are on side streets, off the beaten path. City officials say Glendale has room for at least two more theaters, and they want to ensure that, unlike the existing two, they face or adjoin the thoroughfare.

Jeanne Armstrong, the city’s redevelopment director, said the idea fits the long-term goal of making Brand a more pedestrian-oriented, lively retail area.

“We are borrowing this idea from other cities that have successfully implemented similar restrictions,” said Armstrong. “Santa Monica has an ordinance that says all cinemas should be on the (Third Street) Promenade, and that was the catalyst for them. They had cinemas trying to locate all over town, and so they zoned them into one location.”

The “cinema zone” ordinance, which could be adopted by the City Council before the end of the year, also fits the city’s ambition of becoming a theater district with a mix of live stage and movie entertainment. The city has already given financial aid to two theater groups, A Noise Within and the Colony Theater, to help them find homes in downtown Glendale. They will join the existing Alex Theater and Glendale Center Theatre performing houses, Armstrong said.

But it would not preclude the owners of the Fashion Center mall east of downtown Glendale from building a planned multiscreen theater. Although the mall recently changed ownership, plans for a theater there were approved before the cinema zone was conceived, officials said.

Possible locations for new multiplexes on Brand include the Glendale Marketplace, a proposed two-block retail project south of Broadway; an expansion of the Glendale Galleria onto Brand, south of the existing Mervyn’s department store, and the second phase of the Glendale City Center, an 18-story office tower fronted by a Super Crown bookstore and several restaurants.

Of those three projects, only the City Center has announced any concrete plans for construction. Homart Development plans to break ground early next year on a four-story office and retail building at Brand and Wilson Avenue. But Alan Pyenson, the firm’s marketing director, said it has not decided yet whether a movie house will be included.

“There is the possibility of (cinemas) happening, but right now we’re pursuing several tenants, just trying to put together the center,” Pyenson said.

He said he thinks the city is “going in the right direction” to restrict new theaters to a single area.

“You’re going to get the ambience that other cities have succeeded in getting. You’ll be able to park your car once and walk to a choice of screens,” Pyenson said. “It’s going to give Brand a cohesive front.”