Downtown towers up for approval

CITY HALL — Two major downtown mixed-use development projects, calling for a total of 246 condominiums and 172 hotel units, will be up for final approval from the Glendale City Council today.

The council, acting as the Redevelopment Agency, is expected to weigh the benefits both projects could create for the city’s tax base against environmental concerns related to traffic and waste management.

Northern California-based developer The Amidi Real Estate Group, which is behind both projects, will look for final council approval for the final environmental impact reports on both buildings. Approval would give the developer the green light to begin drawing plans and submit them for plan checks, said Philip Lanzafame, director of the city’s Development Services Department.

At the southwest corner of North Brand Boulevard and Wilson Avenue, the developer is looking to build what is temporarily dubbed the City Center II, a $210-million, dual-tower, mixed-use project that combines residential, commercial and hotel uses, city officials said.

The 20-story, 237-foot west tower would house 135 condominiums, and the 18-story, 223-foot east tower calls for a ground-floor commercial use, 49 condominiums and 172 hotel units, according to a city staff report. The two towers would be adjoined by a four-story connecting structure.

Also up for approval today is a plan to redevelop the former Department of Public and Social Services building at the northwest corner of Broadway and Louise Street. The proposal calls for converting that building into office space for the Hollywood Production Center — an Amidi Real Estate Group subsidiary that manages office space for film and television industry tenants — and construction of a new six-story, 62-unit condominium building at 111 N. Louise St. If the project is approved, the developer has agreed to purchase the social services building from the city for $6.5 million. The whole project is estimated to cost $32 million, according to a city report.

The projects make their way to the end of the planning pipeline just more than a year after the council approved the Downtown Specific Plan, a comprehensive set of development guidelines that rewards mixed-use projects that blend commercial and residential elements.