Signs of Problems at the Americana?

Glendale resident Gerry Rankin has a bone to pick with Americana at Brand developer Rick Caruso -- and Glendale's city council -- asking in Sunday's Glendale News Press:

How does a developer who doesn't even live in this town get all the power in the world to change the landscape here? Is the City Council even awake?

The Americana, just a few years old, is already showing some cracks -- and doesn't appear to be anywhere as successful as Mid-City's The Grove. Take all the empty storefronts, some of which have never been filled since the Americana's 2007 opening. Boarded-up walls on the Americana have promised that Panini Cafe was "coming soon" to the corner of Brand and Colorado -- but four years later, Panini Cafe is nowhere to be found. Instead, the sign is peeling (above) and looks terrible.

And yet... Caruso felt the need to acquire and tear down a hotel and old building next door in order to expand the Americana. He promised more retail and more jobs for Glendale -- and then turned around and announced days later that he was actually swiping Nordstrom from the Galleria. No new retail or jobs. Oh, he has promised to find a suitable tenant to replace the Nordstrom location at the Galleria... but we'll see if he has any luck, as the area faces a glut of empty storefronts. (Borders, at the corner of Brand and Broadway, is set to close any day now. Across the street, the old Mervyn's location at the Galleria has been vacant for years.)

Could the bloom be off the Americana rose? The anonymous folks behind the blog Caruso Is Unfair seem to think so. Granted, they appear to be disgruntled kiosk shop owners stuck with exorbitantly high rents.

But they do bring up some interesting points: According to the blog, several kiosks, including Nestle's Toll House, Kurtosh Bakery, Stewies Snowcones, and Primo Cafe, have gone under, while the eateries owned by Caruso (including Jewel City Diner and Delucas) are doing much better. The blogger also claims that the kiosks are unbearable in the summer, due to the heat, and that the rents remain high.

As for retail, "There's Kitson's which had a drawn out legal battle, and moved from their gigantic location next to Barnes & Nobles and downsized to a smaller shop and STILL couldn't make it. There was Lara's Closet who took over Kitson's spot and couldn't last too long and which is now occupied by Sephora. At least Hurley's was smart enough to sign a short term pop up lease and left without getting stuck there for years. There was Peek, which turned into Fan Clothing which was then booted off to the limbo land of Caruso Ave to make way for Kaitlyn."

Also gone: Paperchase, Martin + Osa, and Ruehl. Luring away Nordstrom is a huge coup for the Americana -- but it doesn't change the Glendale landscape at all. (Apparently KTTV's Jillian Reynolds recently criticized Caruso's Calabasas Commons development, prompting a response. Read about it here.)

UPDATE: The Glendale News-Press reports that Caruso paid the owners of the Golden Key Hotel a whopping $16 million to take over the property. I'm wondering if Caruso so needed the land in order to lure Nordstrom over (adding a critical anchor department store to the Americana) that he was willing to open the pocketbook that wide.

ALSO: Tropico Station points out that the Americana is now starting do go downscale, luring away a Fantastic Sam's franchise and an AT&T dealer to fill some empty space. Both of those stores were lured from a strip mall across the street, so it doesn't even mean new jobs.

One Final Thought on Rick Caruso's Glendale Land Grab

Rick Caruso wouldn't stop until he got his prize: The land underneath Glendale's Golden Key Hotel, which sits right next to his Americana on Brand shopping center.

Golden Key owner Ray Patel held out until Caruso finally made him an offer he couldn't refuse. Well, that, and the fact that the city had sided with Caruso -- and threatened to take the land anyway, through eminent domain.

The Golden Key (and another building) were the only thing standing in the way of Caruso controlling the entire block. He now plans to add 140,000 square feet of retail, the Los Angeles Times writes:

The hotel on Colorado Street and an adjacent former retail building Caruso bought earlier will be demolished to enlarge the mall. The addition will include about 140,000 square feet of shops, more pedestrian space, a cafe and a fountain, he said.

"This will really round out the original vision of the Americana," he said.

Caruso expects to spend about $50 million on the Americana addition and to upgrade a small shopping center across Colorado from the mall that he recently acquired. The Americana expansion has yet to be approved by the city, but he hopes to have it completed by late 2012.

Here's my deal: Downtown Glendale is already awash with empty store fronts. The massive spot formerly held by Mervyn's at the Glendale Galleria is still empty. Borders is about to shut its Glendale slot across the street. Up and down Brand, there are plenty of boarded up windows.

And most importantly: Not all of the Americana is filled. Actually, there's been quite a turnover of stores. One spot -- most recently held by a shave ice joint, and now a tacky AT&T dealer -- has already changed hands three times. And the Americana is not that old.

So... Caruso thinks the neighborhood needs more retail?

Dogs and Cats: The Americana and the Glendale Galleria Make Up

(Pic by Shannon.)

Despite all the bad blood between Glendale's two megamalls, it appears that both sides have finally declared a truce.

According to the Glendale News-Press, the formerly warring mall owners have realized that both of their malls feeds off the other one:

“We have an open line of communication with them,” said Janet LaFevre, senior marketing director for the Galleria, owned by General Growth Properties. “We focus on what is the best thing to drive sales and traffic.”
...

The Galleria also shares ideas with malls in Century City, Los Angeles and Orange County, she said.

But the Galleria, unlike its other Southern California competitors, did wage a three-year legal battle challenging the Americana for consumer supremacy as the 15.5-acre outdoor mall was planning its unveiling.

Immediately following the Americana’s 2004 City Council approval, General Growth filed suit against Caruso Affiliated Holdings, which runs a string of high-end shopping malls in Southern California, alleging that the Americana’s environmental impact report violated California law.

A judge rejected that claim in a January 2005 decision, paving the way for the project to proceed.

In turn, Americana owner Rick Caruso filed a $40-million antitrust suit against General Growth in 2004, alleging that the Chicago-based real estate investment trust engaged in interference and unfair business practices by trying to strong-arm tenants away from potential deals at the Americana.

General Growth denied the claim but was forced to pay $89 million in damages in November 2007 after a jury found that the real estate company tried to derail a deal between Cheesecake Factory and the Americana.

The issue involved a 43-month delay in which the restaurant balked at signing a lease in the Americana after General Growth threatened to block the restaurant’s inclusion at some of its more than 200 malls nationwide.

But the ill will seemed to evaporate after the Americana opened and the Galleria’s customer count rose.

Meanwhile, the letters to the Glendale News-Press supporting Americana developer Rick Caruso -- who was criticized by many (including us) for the mall's recent inappropriate fireworks display -- have bordered on the ridiculous. Some highlights:

Developer Rick Caruso and the Americana project has been the best thing for Glendale in my memory. Yet, for some reason, he meets opposition at every turn. Not, mind you, from the majority, but from a vocal few.
+++++
Rick Caruso, thank you again.

In a time of tough times and loss from fires, we need positive events to keep us going in life.

Why do people have to be negative in a great place like Glendale?
+++++
Rick Caruso went to great lengths to make sure that the fireworks were safe and approved by our own Fire Department. I believe he would have been the first person to pull the plug if he thought there was a danger. Surely, he’s the last person who wants to see a fire break out at the Americana, or anywhere in Glendale.
+++++
Never in the history of Glendale, or anywhere around us, have the citizens had a free community extravaganza like Rick Caruso put on at the Christmas tree-lighting event celebrating the holidays. Whether you’re a mom, dad with family, teen on a date, 10 years old or 100, Caruso offered, free of charge, entertainment for everyone. Never has Glendale seen such a gathering of its residents in our downtown. Finally, we have a reason to congregate, socialize and enjoy an environment in our own city. And no matter what our council members said in their public meeting, those who attended all thanked and congratulated Caruso for a great evening and show.

Shame on you, Councilman Bob Yousefian. Shame on you, Councilman Ara Najarian. And shame on you, Mayor John Drayman. Have any of you ever taken the time to pick up the phone or pen to represent our citizens and properly thank Caruso for his generosity and his vision and for what he has done for our city?

Caruso has raised the image of Glendale and our downtown, and we surely needed it. Enough is enough.
+++++

Apparently Caruso should have considered running for Glendale City Council, rather than L.A. mayor. In this town, apparently the masses believe he walks on water.

I've Never Been More Ashamed To Live In Glendale

(Flickr pic by Charles Song.)

I don't know what's more disgusting in the latest Americana at Brand news coming out of Glendale: Developer Rick Caruso's painfully cheesy use of the extremely overplayed (and, in this case, shamefully, cliched, pandering use) of "Proud to Be an American," or the Glendale City Council's shameful, pandering kissing of Caruso's ass.

The setup: Caruso wanted to name a street inside the Americana project "Excelsior Drive," in order to promote the "Excelsior" housing complex that's plopped on top of the Americana. The Glendale City Council objected to it, arguing that the name "Excelsior" had no relevancy to Glendale.

So instead, they decided to name it after Caruso himself. Ugh. Here's the account from the Glendale News-Press about the City Council meeting, in which Caruso stressed why the street should be named "Excelsior" -- and the unintended result:

But after a polished slide presentation of the project's progress set to Lee Greenwood's "Proud to be an American," and continued deliberation, some on the council took the proposal further, pushing for the Caruso name on the street sign instead.

[City Council members Ara] Najarian and [Bob] Yousefian argued that naming an avenue after the developer would be a "modest tribute" to his vision for Glendale.

"For me, naming that street Caruso Way or Caruso Lane, is, I think, very important," Yousefian said.

Councilman Dave Weaver — who earlier in the discussion had said he was against the issue having even been agendized -- quickly acquiesced to the idea, and before long, the council had Caruso back at the podium and embarrassed.

"I did not come here with that expectation, so I'm flattered and I'm honored," Caruso told the council. "If the council wants to do that, I would be honored. How could I say it's not a wonderful gesture on your part?"

To paraphrase Lee Greenwood, I can't say I'm "Proud to Be a Glendalian" after this embarrassment.

Make Your Own Hollywood Sign

Trust me, it's only a matter of time.

The fine folks at Blogging.la tipped their readers off today (via Thrillist) to Glass Giant's Hollywood Sign generator. Yes, it's a colossal time suck. Here are some of my creations:


Sorry, Lindsay, Hollywood's clean out. Better try downtown.


Yeah, you heard us, New York! Suck. It.


Waking up after one smoke-filled day, Snoop discovers that he has purchased the Hollywood sign.


Being mayor has its privileges.


C'mon Ryan, you're hallucinating. The Hollywood sign says no such thing. You really need to sleep more.


Pretty good guess.


Just because it's undeveloped land doesn't mean it screams out for a Wetzel's Pretzels.

Share your creations with us (e-mail 'em to the address above) and we'll feature them in a future Franklin Avenue post.

Westfield to Caruso: Boo-Ya!

Remember my April Fool's joke about Rick Caruso taking over the Budweiser plant in Van Nuys to build a new open air mall? (Yes, it was a joke.)

Well, this one isn't: The Daily News reports that Westfield will construct a new $750 million outdoor retail complex that will connect the close-by-but-not-quite-connected Topanga and Promenade malls in the Valley.

The new mega center could be Southern California's largest, as the paper writes:

The Village in Warner Center will include a 300-room, four-star hotel, 150 condominiums and apartments, offices, and 550,000 square feet of shops and restaurants.

At 3.8 million square feet, the three-mall behemoth - including its hotel and residences - will be larger than South Coast Plaza in Orange County and Del Amo Fashion Center in Torrance.

"It will create a heart for this whole district," said Ken Wong, president of Australia-based Westfield's operations in the United States.

Construction is expected to start in two years. When finished, The Village could draw 10 million visitors a year - in addition to the 15 million who visit Topanga each year and the 9 million who stop by the Promenade.

Somewhere, Rick Caruso is plotting his revenge.