GLENDALE, CA-A comprehensive redevelopment project has begun for Glendale Galleria, a 1.5-million-square-foot super-regional shopping center owned and managed by Chicago-based REIT General Growth Properties. Renovations for the center, noted for its consistently new and cutting-edge retail concepts, are expected to be completed by Fall 2013 and include construction of a 120,000-square-foot Bloomingdale’s store as the center’s new anchor.
“The renovation will add so many fantastic improvements and aesthetic updates to Glendale Galleria,” says Larry Martin, senior general manager of the center. Miller says that the renovations will impart a more modern ambiance and enhanced shopping experience to the Galleria.
Martin tells GlobeSt.com that while he is unable to reveal the specific cost of the renovation, “we can tell you that we are committed to making a significant investment in Glendale Galleria that will give our customers an enhanced shopping experience and an exciting and beautiful venue in which to gather.” He also could not reveal any financing details at this time, saying that any details available will be released to the public when GGP reveals its quarterly earnings. GlobeSt.com will continue to monitor the project and will reveal pertinent details as they become available.
Construction commenced in the Central Ave. entrance and the Target court where new stone and tile floors with pixelated patterns dancing throughout are being installed. Polished new elegant flooring will also be installed throughout the center.
Upon completion of flooring in the Target court, renovations will move into the JCPenney court, where new hand railings and a dramatic new chandelier will be mounted. The elevator in the JCPenney court will be removed and a new feature elevator installed. Extensive cosmetic changes are intended to create a more elegant look and feel, including the elimination of exposed brick, opening sight lines revealing the sculptural beauty of the ceiling vaults.
Other renovations to the property include reconstruction of the Central Ave. Plaza, creating an open-air, outdoor-dining and gathering place; an inviting and upscale main entrance from Central Ave.; new signage and graphics throughout the center and around the perimeter to provide better visibility for pedestrians and drivers; renovating and modernizing the food court area; new family restrooms; and relocating the east-west escalators and those that lead to the east-side parking structure, improving circulation and cultivating a more unified feel for the center.
Bloomingdale’s will be located in the former Mervyn’s space and is expected to create 175 associate positions within the store. The retailer intends to create an assortment of merchandise and a shopping experience specifically tailored to the Galleria’s shopping community and its distinctive customer base.
GGP is no stranger to renovating large malls. As GlobeSt.com previously reported, according to an SEC filing GGP closed a $1.4-billion secured financing of its wholly owned Ala Moana Center mall in Honolulu, and GlobeSt.com reported back in 2008 that the center expanded by 300,000 square feet on March 7 of that year, bringing in new international and national brands to the largest open-air center in the world. The property was acquired by GGP in the late 1990s.
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Carrie Rossenfeld
Carrie Rossenfeld is a reporter for the San Diego and Orange County markets on GlobeSt.com and a contributor to Real Estate Forum. She was a trade-magazine and newsletter editor in New York City before moving to Southern California to become a freelance writer and editor for magazines, books and websites. Rossenfeld has written extensively on topics including commercial real estate, running a medical practice, intellectual-property licensing and giftware. She has edited books about profiting from real estate and has ghostwritten a book about starting a home-based business.
