Glendale, California is home to some of Southern California’s most popular destinations and its draw for merchants, residents and visitors is undeniable. Brookfield’s Glendale Galleria and Caruso’s The Americana at Brand are two of the top shopping centers in California, iconic locations for major retailers.
What can Glendale offer to make itself even more attractive for a wider range of businesses? The city is focused on streamlining permitting systems and offering a concierge service to ensure promptness, according to Bradley Calvert, director of community development for the City of Glendale.
“Typically we assign a couple staff members who are there to guide a project through the process as fast as possible. They’re quarterbacking and managing the planning side of things, such as building and safety or Glendale water and power. Their primary objective is to get through the process as quickly as possible and reduce that ‘carrying time’ of the space, to be able to get things open,” he explains.
To promote local, small businesses, Artsakh Avenue, located within Glendale’s Arts & Entertainment District, offers an incubation space at a discounted rate. “For retailers who are trying to get a hold in the market, we offer them an opportunity to really expose their brand, get face time with customers and to still be in close proximity to heavy foot traffic from our retail epicenter,” says Calvert.
Watch the video to hear about the other changes benefitting Glendale shopping centers, restaurants and the nearby community.
This video was created as part of the Retail Insight newsletter by Shopping Center Business, a brief newsletter series leading up to the ICSC 2023 LAS VEGAS conference and including post-conference video interviews. The videos in the publication are created in conjunction with our content partners, which sponsor the newsletter. Click here to subscribe.