EDITORIAL

There’s something very appealing about the idea of living in an

upstairs apartment in downtown Glendale.

Sure, there’s the obvious attraction: being close to the city’s

commercial hub, where a phalanx of restaurants, stores and services are

within easy walking distance. But the appeal we’re talking about is more

aesthetic. Built and maintained properly, a downtown apartment has the

sort of sophisticated urban cachet that’s tough to imitate at an

apartment complex on, say, south Adams Street.

It’s the appeal of a twilight stroll through downtown, of living in

the heart of the city, of seeing people downtown who (gasp!) may actually

live there. It’s about putting some of what makes a city really hum --

the people who live there -- right in the middle of the action.

That’s why the Glendale Redevelopment Agency, which is made up of City

Council members, should tweak city zoning codes to allow denser housing

downtown than is presently allowed. The agency’s test case should be the

136-unit apartment complex proposed for the southeast corner of Orange

Street and Wilson Avenue.

The project developer, SNK Realty Group, envisions a structure that

includes storefronts on the lower level, with apartments making up the

balance of the building. The one- and two-bedroom apartments would cater

to professionals, and would help meet the city’s perpetual demand for

housing.

Agency members are worried about the project for one big reason: The

136 units are more than four times the number allowed on the site under

existing regulations, and building such a large complex without

decreasing units elsewhere in the city adds to the density problem.

The density problem can be addressed down the line. In fact, one could

argue that residential density downtown is something of a thin issue.

High-rise dwellers in Glendale hardly are creating a crushing burden on

services. It’s the complex-after-complex makeup of other parts of the

city that make the density dilemma so poignant. Perhaps a simple

trade-out of buildings -- one big downtown building for one less building

somewhere else -- is the answer.

But the more immediate advantage to allowing such a complex is that,

done right, it’s precisely the sort of economic and social shot in the

arm the area needs. Downtown Glendale has a lot to offer, yet stores are

empty all over the place. One would think the foot traffic generated by

weekend visitors alone would keep some of those businesses afloat, but it

doesn’t. Many shoppers come to Glendale with a specific destination in

mind -- the Galleria, Tower Records, Old Navy and so on. The sort of

perpetual urban foot traffic that keeps New York thriving (and that is

urtterly absent in downtown Los Angeles after 6 p.m.) is what’s needed

here.

It comes from people who actually live downtown. Getting those people

into the heart of the city will require some different rules, imagination

and risk. The Redevelopment Agency should be willing to try all three for

downtown’s sake.