Politics
Agency OKs changes to City Center’s design
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| The redevelopment agency is considering a final design for a major overhaul of the City Center plaza. (Roger Wilson/News-Press) |
Plans call for statues to be moved because they are blocking some of the plaza businesses’ signs.
By Ryan Vaillancourt
CITY HALL — The Glendale City Council, acting as the Redevelopment Agency, on Tuesday approved a major design overhaul of the Glendale City Center office building, which the owners say is needed to attract corporate tenants.
Legacy Partners bought the 400,000-square-foot, 20-story office building at 101 N. Brand Blvd. — a prime downtown location that is home to dozens of office tenants and restaurants including Islands, BJ’s and California Pizza Kitchen — in July.
But the property’s outdoor plaza is designed in such a way that the building’s entrance is concealed by a public art feature, and poor signs keep ground-floor retail tenants hidden, said Chris Hylton, a designer with HKS Inc., a Denver-based design firm working on the City Center’s planned improvements.
“If there’s one word to sum up the design . . . it’s clutter,” Hylton said. “[Legacy Partners] looks at 101 Brand as an opportunity, but an opportunity with some serious issues that are preventing the building from operating at its capacity. Existing conditions are not conducive to a class A office identity or a retail identity either.”
The redesign calls for moving the white stone water feature, now in the middle of the plaza, to the northern border of the property.
Three statues inside the circular structure are blocking the view of the property’s entrance, Hylton said. With the relocation of the structure, Legacy Partners also plans to remove the three statues and place them in different spots, including at the landing of an escalator that leads from the plaza to second-floor restaurants.
Councilman Bob Yousefian, who cast the lone dissenting vote, said the move would disrupt an important downtown icon.
“The only big problem I have with that project is [losing] that art from the fountain,” Yousefian said. “The statues are very iconic to our city. . . . And the residents of this city don’t do well with change.”
But Yousefian’s colleagues agreed with Legacy Partners that the need to open up the City Center plaza in a way that lends focus to the entrance outweighed the need to keep the artwork in place.
In addition to moving the structure, the company is planning on building a more distinguishable canopy over the building’s main entrance and adding new signs to direct pedestrians into retailers in the “Arcade” — a ground-floor row of storefronts situated under a portion of the overhanging building.
“I could care less about the artwork. . . . You have retailers in there that need signage — it makes sense,” Councilman Dave Weaver said. “You want your businesses, your leases filled, you’ve got to market.”
The building is only about 50% occupied, but that’s a significant improvement from the vacancy rate that Legacy Partners inherited, said Scott Word, Legacy’s senior vice president of acquisitions and development.
“When we bought it, it was only 38% leased, and now we’re up to about 50%,” Word said.
RYAN VAILLANCOURT covers business, politics and the foothills. He may be reached at (818) 637-3215 or by e-mail at ryan.vaillancourt@latimes.com.
Legacy Partners bought the 400,000-square-foot, 20-story office building at 101 N. Brand Blvd. — a prime downtown location that is home to dozens of office tenants and restaurants including Islands, BJ’s and California Pizza Kitchen — in July.
But the property’s outdoor plaza is designed in such a way that the building’s entrance is concealed by a public art feature, and poor signs keep ground-floor retail tenants hidden, said Chris Hylton, a designer with HKS Inc., a Denver-based design firm working on the City Center’s planned improvements.
“If there’s one word to sum up the design . . . it’s clutter,” Hylton said. “[Legacy Partners] looks at 101 Brand as an opportunity, but an opportunity with some serious issues that are preventing the building from operating at its capacity. Existing conditions are not conducive to a class A office identity or a retail identity either.”
The redesign calls for moving the white stone water feature, now in the middle of the plaza, to the northern border of the property.
Three statues inside the circular structure are blocking the view of the property’s entrance, Hylton said. With the relocation of the structure, Legacy Partners also plans to remove the three statues and place them in different spots, including at the landing of an escalator that leads from the plaza to second-floor restaurants.
Councilman Bob Yousefian, who cast the lone dissenting vote, said the move would disrupt an important downtown icon.
“The only big problem I have with that project is [losing] that art from the fountain,” Yousefian said. “The statues are very iconic to our city. . . . And the residents of this city don’t do well with change.”
But Yousefian’s colleagues agreed with Legacy Partners that the need to open up the City Center plaza in a way that lends focus to the entrance outweighed the need to keep the artwork in place.
In addition to moving the structure, the company is planning on building a more distinguishable canopy over the building’s main entrance and adding new signs to direct pedestrians into retailers in the “Arcade” — a ground-floor row of storefronts situated under a portion of the overhanging building.
“I could care less about the artwork. . . . You have retailers in there that need signage — it makes sense,” Councilman Dave Weaver said. “You want your businesses, your leases filled, you’ve got to market.”
The building is only about 50% occupied, but that’s a significant improvement from the vacancy rate that Legacy Partners inherited, said Scott Word, Legacy’s senior vice president of acquisitions and development.
“When we bought it, it was only 38% leased, and now we’re up to about 50%,” Word said.
RYAN VAILLANCOURT covers business, politics and the foothills. He may be reached at (818) 637-3215 or by e-mail at ryan.vaillancourt@latimes.com.
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