Americana is on schedule

DOWNTOWN — A wall is what stands between the community and what will become a $324-million, 900,000-square-foot, mixed-use center that promises dining, entertainment, shopping and quality living.

And behind that wall — which wraps around Central Avenue and Brand and Colorado boulevards — construction for the Americana at Brand is coming along smoothly and on schedule, officials said.

"If you go out and look at the site, there's a tremendous amount of progress being made," city Director of Development Services Philip Lanzafame said. "It looks like a big hole, but everything is where it's supposed to be. We're doing everything that needs to be done to get it built by spring 2008."

The city broke ground on the 15.5-acre downtown site in June and since then, construction crews have been busy at the site.

"It's starting to come out of the ground," said developer Rick Caruso said, whose company also developed The Grove — the popular retail and entertainment center in Los Angeles' Fairfax District.

Excavation at the site has been completed and cement is being poured for the one building that Caruso Affiliated Holdings has a foundation permit for so far, Lanzafame said.

"They have all of their plans in plan-check and everything is on schedule," he said.

In September, the Glendale Redevelopment Agency approved design modifications for the Americana, which will include 238 apartments, 100 luxury condominiums, a movie cinema, 75 upscale shops and boutiques, casual and fine-dining establishments, a water feature and a nearly two-acre park at the center of it all.

The project is expected to be four times bigger than The Grove, which draws an estimated 18 million visitors annually, according to Caruso Affiliated officials.

"I think it'll be nice when it's done," Glendale resident Lara Rivera said.

She passes the boarded-up construction site frequently to and from her workplace and takes notice of the wall that boasts images of couples and individuals dining out and carrying shopping bags.

"Right now, you can't really see what's happening," Rivera said. "It'll be nice when they finally get rid of this wall and you just see the whole thing built."

Retailers slated to do business in the Americana thus far include Lacoste, Juicy Couture, H&M, A/X Armani Exchange, Anthropologie, BCBG Max Azria, Planet Funk, Puma and Urban Outfitters.