GLENDALE : Shopping Center Deal Considered

The Glendale Redevelopment Agency will consider today whether to sign a deal with a developer to build the Glendale Marketplace, a proposed shopping center in the heart of the city’s downtown.

Officials with Regent / Tolkin, a development partnership, said this week that they have obtained options to buy 42% of the land within the project site, which is bordered by Broadway, Brand Boulevard, and Harvard and Louise streets.

The company has an exclusive agreement with the Redevelopment Agency allowing it to negotiate with landowners in the project area.

A development agreement would allow the firm to begin seeking financing to buy land and to begin signing stores and other tenants for the mall, which is expected to have an entertainment emphasis, they said.

Plans for the long-awaited mall include a multiplex cinema, three or four major retailers ranging from electronics to sporting goods to fashion, and restaurants ranging from fast food to formal dining.

Boutique stores and a plaza area have been dropped from the plans, officials said.

City officials estimate that, when completed, the mall would generate about $899,000 in annual sales tax revenue for the city.

Regent / Tolkin inherited the project from JMB / Urban Development, a firm that recently pulled out of the commercial development business.

Last month, several property owners in the project area said they are eager for progress on the shopping center and urged the Redevelopment Agency to begin looking for a new developer.