Gretchen Hoffman
The owners of the Glendale Galleria are ready and willing: They've
put the mega-mall on the market and are waiting for the right offer.
"An offering has gone out to prospective interested parties," said
Joanne Brosi, general manager of the mall.
The 1.3-million-square-foot property, being brokered through
Eastdil Realty, has generated significant interest from potential
buyers since it went on the market about two months ago, Brosi said.
In large real estate deals, there typically is no asking price.
Representatives for Eastdil could not be reached for comment.
The mall is shared by three owners: CIGNA, New York State
Teachers' Retirement System and a group of people who've owned the
property since the Galleria opened in 1976.
An estimated 22 million people visit the mall each year, and the
Galleria ranks in the top 5% of shopping malls in the United States
in terms of gross sales.
"I think it's a business decision," Brosi said. "The market,
obviously, is very good now. The timing was just right now. It's a
way to reinvest and recapitalize."
The city of Glendale leases the parking structures to the mall and
will negotiate with the new owner if the mall is sold, said Jeanne
Armstrong, director of Glendale's department of development services.
Glendale planners put the ambitious Galleria on the drawing board
in 1972 to counteract a retail slump on Brand Boulevard. Developers
for years had failed to buy property on Colorado Street, so city
officials condemned 28 acres of property west of Brand and acquired
it for the mall. Forty business and 400 families were relocated.
Construction began in 1973 on the first phase of the Galleria,
between the current Robinsons-May and Macy's, Armstrong said.
Ten years later, the second phase, Galleria II, was built, adding
Nordstrom, Mervyn's and the bridge across Central Avenue.
The mall has undergone significant internal changes throughout the
years, most recently with the renovation of what used to be Buffum's
by Robinsons-May in the 1990s.
