Glendale auto dealers could shuffle spaces at Marketplace

Visitors to the upper floors of the Glendale Marketplace’s parking lot will see row upon row of parking spaces occupied by brand-new Kias and BMWs , a sight that’s far from a coincidence.

For several years, the city, which owns the structure, has leased out hundreds of spots to car dealers along Brand Boulevard in need of storage for their inventory.

But with a new lineup of stores moving in to help revive the struggling Marketplace and downtown Glendale in general, the City Council has asked to start looking into building a new structure to house dealer cars and free up spots for shoppers.

Alex Baroian, president of Brand Pacific Construction, recently pitched the idea of a new lot, housing 500 to 600 vehicles, near the Larry Zarian Transportation Center.

Council members voted 5-0 on Tuesday to let the local firm draft a conceptual plan over the next six months.

Philip Lanzafame, the city’s community development director, said the demand for parking in downtown is growing, but the solution can’t come at the cost of the biggest businesses.

“We’re going to need to tell the auto dealers we don’t have the surplus of spaces for you anymore, but we want to make sure they can still sell their cars because they are tremendously important to our economy,” he said.

Aside from sales tax dollars, car dealerships pay the city roughly $200,000 a year to park their cars at the Marketplace, according to Public Works Director Roubik Golanian. That’s about $40 per space a month with 500 available spaces, he added.

Currently, the Marketplace leases out spaces to the local Dodge, Kia and BMW dealerships, Golanian said.

The city also isn’t the only property owner to lease parking spots dealers, with several office downtown buildings allocating some spots as well as the Americana at Brand.

City spokesman Tom Lorenz said between 2,500 to 3,000 spots throughout Glendale are rented by dealerships.

Brand Pacific Construction has indicated it would build the new parking structure, though it’s yet to be determined what financial stake, if any, the city would have in the project.

Councilman Vartan Gharpetian spoke favorably of the new development because he said it would eliminate the traffic created by the back and forth trips dealers make between their lots and the Marketplace.

“This going to move all the traffic down south,” he said during the council meeting. “It’ll be closer to them and more convenient.”

And at least one of the dealers said they would like to see a new space to house their cars.

Edwin Menasaka, general manager of Glendale Kia, said he received a letter from the city in June to relocate 150 of the 300 cars he had stored at the Marketplace parking lot.

Menasaka said the relocation will make way for the opening of the new Buffalo Wild Wings and L.A. Fitness locations at the shopping center.

Since then, he’s moved part of his inventory to a 45,000-square-foot lot along San Fernando Road in Los Angeles, just outside of Glendale.

While he’s paying a little more to do so, Menasaka said the distance he has to travel is a bigger inconvenience, as well as one aspect a parking structure has over a surface lot.

“It’s more secure,” Menasaka said.

Golanian said he will soon start asking other dealer tenants at the Marketplace to start relocating their vehicles.

While downtown parking and accommodating car dealers is important, having additional parking at the train station will help promote public transit, Principal Economic Development Officer Darlene Sanchez told the council.

Councilwoman Laura Friedman said the design of a new parking structure needs to be mindful of the train station’s historic status.

“You’re dealing with a historic resource and any proposed structure needs to be very sensitive to that,” she said.