General Growth

A Superior Court Judge rejected a request by General Growth Properties for expedited discovery in its lawsuit challenging the environmental approvals for a retail and residential project in downtown Glendale. General Growth wanted to depose Director of Development Services Jeanne Armstrong and others to discover an alleged pattern of misconduct by the city and the city's Redevelopment Agency during the approval process for the Americana at Brand project.

Ryan Carter An appeals court decision Thursday clears the way for Americana at Brand developer Rick Caruso to move forward with an anti-trust suit against Glendale Galleria owner General Growth. The Second Appellate District Court of Appeal dismissed General Growth's motion that claimed a lawsuit filed by Caruso was a strategic move to silence their voice against the project. "We won all the counts," said Rick Moses, Caruso Affiliated Holdings' senior vice president and chief development officer.

It could not be a more fitting time of the year for Glendale Galleria owner General Growth to end a legal stand-off with the city and Americana at Brand developer Rick Caruso. For two years, the Chicago-based megalith has held up construction of Caruso's project, a 15.5-acre open-air commercial and residential campus in the heart of downtown. Court appeals have been General Growth's weapon in this entrenched debate, so far holding up the razing of the questionably historical old Fire Station 21 and Pacific Bell buildings on the project site.

I have lived in Glendale for more than 28 years. I moved here when I was just 6. In that time, I have never written a letter to an editor of a newspaper. I have never attended a City Council meeting. That is not to say that I am ignorant of the community issues in my city. Actually, I have been following with great interest the high drama associated with the future development of the Americana at Brand. I have reviewed the project and have my own strong opinions of its worth and benefit to our city.

People in the city of Glendale should be more concerned about the redevelopment efforts of General Growth rather than Caruso. General Growth went public in 1993, and its mission in the past 10 years or so was for the sole purpose of gaining market share through acquisitions and redevelopment of underperforming properties. It is not slowing down. Real estate investment trusts (REITS) don't want to pay too much for a property, but they don't want to miss an opportunity to buy a property that will perform well long-term (i.e.

As one of the individuals who has spoken out in favor of the Americana at Brand, I feel I must respond to the letter from Steven A. Wells (News-Press June 4). We are not, as Mr. Wells implies, blindly pining for the Americana at Brand in some type of altruistic stupor. Rick Caruso is one of the busiest and most prolific developers in the country. The reason why: He has a proven track record of producing high-quality, desirable projects that work in harmony with the communities in which they are situated.

We received a phone call late Thursday night [May 20], just after 10 p.m. The caller wanted to conduct a survey with my husband. I told the caller my husband was busy and mentioned that it wasn't a very good time to be calling. The caller asked if "calling back at 11 p.m. would be more convenient?" I was initially shocked at his insensitive response, but after realizing that General Growth was conducting the "survey," it's really not surprising at all. The caller asked my husband if he was familiar with the Glendale Town Center project, now known as the Americana at Brand, and if he was in favor of it. Then he read statements and asked my husband to rate his opinion of the Americana project from 1 to 5 after each statement was read.

Herbert Molano Last week, before Superior Court Judge Robert O'Brian, the city took a page from Americana at Brand developer Rick Caruso's A-B-C referendum message and claimed time and again that General Growth's intention was to obstruct free competition. The timing of a letter to the community forum ("Americana at Brand on course for completion," Mailbag, Jan. 12) appeared to be orchestrated as a prelude to influence future election debates. The irony is that, if you look closely, the process that led to Caruso's town center development is the antithesis of laissez-faire capitalism or free competition.

At this point, I believe it is useless for General Growth to appeal the Appellate Court decision to the Supreme Court. It is obvious that the courts base their decision on a flawed Environmental Impact Report that upholds the views of the City Council and staff that Fire Station 21 is not deemed to be historic. That is why the council voted to approve the environmental report for the Americana. This is in direct conflict with the decision by the City Council and staff in 1996, which recommended incorporation of the old Fire Station 21 into the design of the Town Center to preserve it as an historic entity, which it is. The majority of the City Council wanted the Town Center as proposed by Caruso Affiliated Holdings, at any price.

the above! When did we develop this fortress mentality here in Glendale? Our city leaders, and now the public, are divided into two camps; those who champion the Caruso Town Center plan versus those who tout the Galleria (General Growth) alternative. I use the term "fortress" because each side in this tug-of-war seems intent on having walled encampments define the character of our city. We all know what the Galleria looks like. If you need a reminder, just take a drive around it. Enormous brick walls loom over Brand Boulevard, up and down Central Avenue and all along Broadway.

Sears Holdings Corp.said Thursday that it will spin off its smaller Hometown and Outlet stores as well as some hardware stores in a deal expected to raise $400 million to $500 million as it seeks to regain profitability and market share. The operator of Sears and Kmart also says will sell 11 stores to the real estate company General Growth Properties for $270 million. The moves drove Sears' stock up more than 13 percent in premarket trading. The disclosures of the store plans came as the Hoffman Estates , Ill.-based company reported it swung to a loss in the fourth-quarter while revenue fell 4 percent to $12.48 billion.

The owner of the Glendale Galleria plans to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy as two companies in October, officials announced Monday. General Growth Properties Inc., which filed for bankruptcy last year, also announced that it had received assurances for as much as $8.5 billion in new capital, which would pay its debts in full. Out of the two-firm split, one called the "New GGP," would continue to own and operate shopping malls. The other, Spinco, would oversee master-planned and mixed-use communities, as well as mall development projects.

The owner of the Glendale Galleria plans to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy as two companies in October, the company announced Monday. General Growth Properties Inc., which filed for bankruptcy last year, announced it has received assurances for as much as $8.5 billion in new capital and will split into two firms. One, called the “New GGP,” would remain focused on owning and operating shopping malls. The other, Spinco, would control master-planned and mixed-use communities, as well as mall development projects.

As for Rick Caruso’s trolley going up and down Brand Boulevard on his dime — thank you, Caruso, for your imagination and the workings of your marketing department (“Trolley to roll in April,” March 19). You have not failed me and the many supporters of your project, the Americana at Brand. The same critics of the past still go before the City Council today criticizing and speaking ill of your “Dream for Glendale.” One critic gets upset when told to keep off the “public grass” for lawn maintenance and also criticizes the new special “signage” for our two premier malls.

An aggressive bidding war for the operator of the Burbank Town Center and Glendale Galleria may be in the works after the company filed a reorganization plan last week in bankruptcy court, a move that has brought the local malls a step closer to full health, experts said. The plan from General Growth Properties Inc. would allow it to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as two independent companies with the backing of $6.55 billion from three investors, the firm said. But more than establishing its own restructuring plan, the filing sets the stage for other firms, like rival Simon Properties Inc., to make takeover bids.

A U.S. bankruptcy court judge this week extended a deadline for the debt-ridden operator of the Burbank Town Center and Glendale Galleria to finalize plans to emerge from Chapter 11 protection, likely delaying any deal, experts said. General Growth Properties Inc., of Chicago, which owns the Galleria and runs the local malls, will have until Sept. 15 to finalize its plans as it also considers at least four potential suitors, the company said. News of the extension and the company’s annual financial results this week boosted stocks Friday, the first day the company was listed on the New York Stock Exchange since it filed for bankruptcy protection in April 2009 in what experts considered the largest real estate failure in national history.

DOWNTOWN — General Growth Properties Inc., the operator of the Glendale Galleria and Burbank Town Center, announced late Wednesday that it agreed to a $2.65-billion deal that would give a Canadian commercial real estate firm a 30% stake in the company. The deal with Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management, which still has to be finalized, would pull General Growth out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. Chicago-based General Growth is the nation’s second-largest regional mall operator, with more than 200 properties nationwide, including the largest retail destinations in Glendale and Burbank.

General Growth Properties, which operates the Glendale Galleria and Burbank Town Center, rejected a $10-billion bid Tuesday from rival Simon Properties Inc. that could have brought the firm out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. General Growth had considered the offer over the last week, before Simon Properties made the bid public, but in a response Tuesday said it had determined the offer was “not sufficient to preempt the process we are undertaking to explore all avenues to emerge from Chapter 11 and maximize value for all the company’s stakeholders.