Site-Clearing Begins for 18-Story Tower Project : Offices: Builder hopes to cash in on need for space with the mergers of CBS and Westinghouse and of Disney and ABC.
A two-ton wrecking ball is scheduled to begin clearing the site today for what will be the first major office building project in the area since 1991.
K. Young, a South Korean developer, plans to build an 18-story, 406,000-square-foot, $100-million office project called Palladian Tower overlooking the Ventura Freeway at 655 N. Central Ave.
Zoning codes for the area call for a maximum height for office buildings of six stories. But city officials granted a waiver, saying that the project, next to a freeway off-ramp, did not threaten to start a trend of high-rises.
Glendale experienced an office-building boom in the mid-1980s as high-rises sprang up in the downtown redevelopment area. Then construction halted in the early 1990s as vacancy rates increased. But the developer is confident that the office market has regained strength, said Marlene Roth, a consultant to K. Young.
“What with the mergers of CBS and Westinghouse and of Disney and ABC, there’s going to be a tremendous need for new office space in this area,” Roth said. “They feel that if this building gets built, they can capitalize on some of that activity.”
K. Young bought the property and the project from Kajima Development, a Japanese-owned firm, and several other partners who obtained the original development approvals. Roth said the developer plans to unveil some cosmetic changes to the original plans today, as demolition begins on two low-rise medical buildings on the property. The changes reportedly include the addition of a granite exterior and a prominent facade facing the freeway.
When first proposed, the 655 N. Central project drew heat from residents of an adjacent 18-story condominium tower who felt the building would block their views. The original plans were for twin office towers of 10 and 17 stories each, with the larger one closest to the condominiums. The project was later redesigned to include just one building along Central, with a four-story parking garage adjacent to the condos.
The developers have also agreed to various terms to mitigate the condominium residents’ concerns, including paying the cost of washing the residents’ windows once the construction is complete.
Developer officials said they hope the building will be open by fall, 1997. Construction is expected to start in January and take 18 months.
The last major office project to open in Glendale was an 18-story building at Broadway and Brand Boulevard, which was completed in 1991, officials said.
