Americana hearing postponed again

Days after attorneys told a judge that Americana at Brand developer Rick Caruso had agreed to a deal to acquire the adjacent Golden Key Hotel, the Glendale Redevelopment Agency on Tuesday granted a request to delay a hearing on expanding the mall.

The City Council, acting as the Glendale Redevelopment Agency, agreed to postpone the hearing until March 8 — the third delay as Caruso and hotel owner Ray Patel apparently continue to hash out the details of their pending deal.

Patel and representatives for Caruso have declined to comment on the deal. But Samuel Arsht, an attorney representing Patel in a 2008 business interference lawsuit against the Glendale Redevelopment Agency and Caruso, told a Los Angeles Superior Court judge on Thursday that Patel had agreed to sell the property and to settle the lawsuit.

Arsht and attorneys for Caruso said the lawsuit settled for $500,000, but declined to disclose the value of the real estate transaction. The hotel is the second property Caruso has purchased since approaching the city in November with a proposal to spend more than $40 million to expand the 15.5-acre mall, adding 135,000 square feet of retail space and other amenities.

The city, which has the power of eminent domain in the redevelopment zone, had encouraged the property owners to sell to Caruso. A Feb. 15 hearing that drew more than 150 people to City Hall was cancelled while Patel and Caruso negotiated in a room across the corridor. On Feb. 22, Caruso and Patel sought another delay to continue talks.