Crown Books backs out of lease

DOWNTOWN — The 90,000-square-foot former home of Mervyn’s at the Glendale Galleria has turned into a “black hole” in the city’s retail core and will remain that way after a bookstore backed out of a one-year lease agreement at the site, officials said.

Crown Books, a discount book seller that operates under the name of a now-defunct retail chain, will not open a store at the three-story site because city codes would have required unanticipated building changes and improvements to the facility, said Janet LaFevre, spokeswoman for the Glendale Galleria.

Galleria executives and city officials are now working to lure more permanent solutions for the vacancy at Broadway and North Brand Boulevard and are in contact with several major retailers, including Bloomingdale’s, said John Drayman, chairman of the Glendale Redevelopment Agency.

“I would like to see a Bloomingdale’s in the former Mervyn’s space,” Drayman said. “It would be an appropriate anchor for that site. It would help to bring the key age and income demographic to shop not only at the Galleria, but at the Americana as well.”

But that might be a long shot for Glendale, particularly as the Macy’s-owned retailer is planning to open a new location at a renovated mall in Santa Monica, said Jack Kyser, chief economist for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation.

“That’s going to be a tough go because Bloomingdale’s is very particular about where they go, and there’s been a lot of people trying to lure Bloomingdale’s,” Kyser said.

A spokeswoman for Bloomingdale’s declined to comment on whether the retailer is considering the Glendale site.

Galleria executives are in conversations with “a lot” of potential tenants to fill the site, but are taking their time to strike a deal with the best option, LaFevre said.

“I’d say there’s a lot of interest because it’s such a phenomenal location,” LaFevre said. “It is a highly coveted location.”

While business leaders and experts agreed that the location is desirable and an important component in the city’s retail center, and so its extended vacancy has been troubling, they said.

The large, empty store has prevented shoppers from moving from the Americana at Brand and Galleria to other stores on Brand Boulevard, said Eric Olson, president of the Downtown Glendale Merchants Assn.

“When you have a vacancy like what is there, nobody’s going to walk in that direction,” Olson said.

“Why would they? It’s dark.”

The Mervyn’s store had also acted as an entrance to the Galleria, moving shoppers in and out of the 1.5-million-square-foot mall and creating connectivity with the surrounding stores in the city center, Olson said.

Without a store at that site, there has not been an entry or exit option to stimulate foot traffic at that corner, Olson said.

“It’s basically a black hole,” Kyser said, later adding, “You don’t want to have a big empty space, and it’s important for the city because that’s lost retail sales tax revenue.”