Trader Joe’s, Walgreens plan to open near downtown Glendale
Walgreens is looking to come to Glendale, part of a plan that would include the opening of the city’s third Trader Joe’s market.
The two companies have both applied for off-site liquor sales licenses with the city. Representatives from Walgreens and Trader Joe’s presented plans for putting both stores in a currently unoccupied property at 101 E. Glenoaks Ave. at a city hearing last week.
The 25,560 square-foot building, located at the intersection of Glenoaks and Brand Boulevard, would be split in two to accommodate the two businesses, according to city documents. The building has been vacant for some time.
Trader Joe’s would occupy 11,500 square feet and Walgreens 12,400 square feet. Trader Joe’s currently operates a store on Glendale Avenue as well as one on Honolulu Avenue in Montrose.
Walgreens spokeswoman Emily Hartwig said on Friday that the company was aiming to open in fall 2014.
At the planning officer meeting on July 31, Trader Joe’s representative Brett Engstrom said the new store would be open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and would serve a need for the surrounding area.
“This is an underutilized property,” he said. “A new market in this area will help serve those neighbors and the nearby residential neighbors as well as those employed in the area.”
City planner Villa Zemaitaitis noted that the proposed store will be significantly smaller than the one that recently opened in Montrose.
Michael Rosenbaum, who lives behind the proposed stores on Fairview Avenue, said that with Nestlé employees already parking in his neighborhood, the new stores presented a traffic and parking problem.
“We’re concerned that with this Walgreens and Trader Joe’s that there’s going to be even more of a problem with parking on our street … and also the traffic,” he said.
City officials are expected to either approval or deny the companys’ requests to sell alcohol next week.
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