Economy hits Americana

GLENDALE — With its luxury apartments just 25% filled and some stores reporting stagnant sales, the Americana at Brand may be experiencing the same woes other businesses in the region are currently undergoing in a distressed economy.

Still, city and mall officials said the mixed-use development has been a boon for the city.

Since the outdoor shopping center opened May 2, officials have praised the high-class shopping and luxurious apartments that sit above the 900,000-square foot development in Downtown Glendale.

The Americana includes such swanky outposts to fashion as the French apparel company Lacoste and Tiffany & Co. jewelers.

The outdoor mall also features high-end dining, such as Japanese restaurant Katsuya.

Officials hoped the $435 million complex would bring hundreds of thousands of new shoppers and residents to Glendale as well as flood the city’s treasury with tax revenue.

“It’s been pretty good, but it’s slow during the week,” Lacoste store manager Ryan Kansby said. “I’d love to see it grow a little bit more.”

Officials in the leasing unit for the 238 lofts, one-bedroom and two-bedroom residential units that make up the Residences said just 55 have been leased.

On the low end of the residential scale, 675-square foot lofts rent for $2,060 each month while the biggest units, 1,928-square-foot, two-bedroom town homes, rent for $5,480 per month.

Hoping to ignite their rental market, Americana officials have reduced rates for a slew of apartments as part of a special July program, said Jennifer Gordon, vice president of public relations and special events for Caruso Affiliated.

“That’s what industry standards are,” she said. “That’s what some other developers are doing.”

Gordon contends that the amount of lease signings is right on queue, though three-fourths of their luxury units remain vacant.

“We’re very happy with the way the leasing is going. Twenty-five percent in this economy at this time — and being that we just opened the apartments in June — I personally think they are doing great,” she said. “We are satisfied with the way things are going. I would love to have them full but it’s not possible.”

As for competition from other mixed-use sites around Glendale, Gordon and other officials from Caruso Affiliate — named for the project’s developer Rick Caruso — said that the Americana stands alone.