Galleria Firm Backed for Town Center
Donahue Schriber, developer of the Glendale Galleria, should build the centerpiece of the city’s downtown redevelopment plans, the Town Center, according to a recommendation disclosed Friday.
City staff and a selection committee chose the Newport Beach company over two other firms as best qualified for the project, which is proposed as a $100 million mix of retail stores, offices and a hotel.
The City Council will vote Tuesday whether to enter exclusive negotiations with the company for 90 days on a development agreement for the four-block site, bordered by Central Avenue, Louise Street and the Galleria.
“This is only the beginning, and there is a tremendous amount of work to do from here on out,” said Pat Donahue, vice president of the company.
“We’re very pleased to get the recommendation,” Donahue said. “But we aren’t going to celebrate until we have a plan in place that meets the needs of the city and our needs and we’ve gotten the project off the ground.”
The Town Center is expected to be built in phases, with the entire project completed three to four years after groundbreaking.
Although the developer and city say they agree that the project will be a pedestrian-oriented, open-air “retail village,” many questions must be resolved including all financial details.
The Glendale Redevelopment Agency owns nearly all the land in the project area, which it acquired over the past decade for about $14.5 million, officials said. City officials say it is not yet known what type of subsidies might be offered the developer, such as land write-downs, sales tax rebates or parking construction funds.
City officials said Donahue Schriber just edged out a proposal from Arizona-based Vestar Development Co. A third proposal from Santa Monica-based Regent Properties, builders of the $30-million Glendale Marketplace project on Brand Boulevard, was disqualified.
If the city cannot reach a development agreement with Donahue Schriber within six months, it reserves the right to open negotiations with Vestar on the project, said Jeanne Armstrong, director of development services.
