More girth coming to Glendale's core

Cranes, construction trucks and multistory buildings rising slowly out of the ground can be seen peppered through downtown Glendale as several residential and commercial projects get underway. And there’s more on the horizon.

The Broadway Lofts, which includes 208 studio lofts and two-bedroom apartments, has been under construction on the southeast corner of Broadway and Maryland Avenue for several months, with crews recently starting to install windows on the five-story building. Broadway Lofts will also include about 23,000 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor.

“It’s really starting to take shape,” said Philip Lanzafame, chief assistant director of community development for the city.

Nearing completion is the ICIS project, which includes 186 apartments, 14 townhome rentals and 7,500 square feet of commercial space on Colorado Boulevard near the Golden State (5) Freeway. It should open in the early part of next year, Lanzafame said.

Both of the projects — as well as almost all residential development under construction or in the planning stages — are apartments, but they will be built to condominium standards so they can be converted and sold later if the condo market returns.

“That’s better for Glendale,” Lanzafame said. “You get a higher-quality unit.”

Two retail powerhouse projects currently underway are a new Nordstrom store in the Americana at Brand and renovation of the former Mervyn’s space in the Galleria, on the corner of Broadway and Brand Boulevard, for a Bloomingdale’s.

Both projects are slated to be completed in the fall 2013, probably in time for the holiday shopping season.

A new tenant for the current Nordstrom site in the Galleria, which is undergoing its own renovation, has not been announced.

Other commercial projects include Five-Star Cinema, where crews are working at a fast pace to renovate the former Mann 10 Theater Complex in the Exchange, hopefully by the end of the year, Lanzafame said.

Mann’s 2,500 seats are being replaced with 508 large, luxury seats with and tables where patrons can enjoy food and drinks. The new cinema complex will include a restaurant and lounge with a full bar in the former Salo-Salo Grill, which has been gutted for the project.

Next year, there will be two apartment projects under construction between Orange Street and Central Avenue, south of Lexington Drive.