Nordstrom

Developer Rick Caruso expanded his Glendale retail empire Wednesday with the announcement that he has purchased the Nordstrom site at the Glendale Galleria and will move the high-end retailer to the Americana at Brand in 2013. Caruso also sent a letter to the chief executive of Galleria owner General Growth Properties, asking to meet about a revamp of Galleria II, the portion of the 200-plus-store mall marred by the long-empty Mervyns site at Brand Boulevard and Broadway. In the letter, Caruso said Galleria II “has suffered from significant vacancy and lack of foot traffic” and that the two parties “should work together to stop this trend.” While General Growth Properties does own the Galleria, the anchor stores typically are owned by their tenants, and that was the case with the Nordstrom property.

After millions of dollars and a public relations battle with the owner of the Golden Key Hotel, Americana at Brand developer Rick Caruso now may have to contend with the Glendale Historical Society. At issue is a brick building at 230 S. Orange St. that is slated for demolition to make way for a new Nordstrom slated for the site it and the Golden Key occupy. Caruso acquired the former recording studio building for $4.1 million in January, but Glendale Historical Society sent a letter to the city arguing it should be saved.

High-end department store Bloomingdale's announced plans Thursday to become an anchor tenant at the Glendale Galleria, moving into the former Mervyn's site that has sat vacant on Brand Boulevard for years. It's a major addition for the mega mall that has struggled to retain its retail dominance against the growing prominence of nearby Americana at Brand, which is poaching Nordstrom after attracting other previously Galleria-only stores such as Apple and Sephora. Bloomingdale's, which according to the announcement plans to move into the 120,000-square-foot site at the corner of Broadway and Brand Boulevard by fall 2013, is expected to create 175 jobs and re-energize the fledgling intersection where Borders shuttered a prominent multi-story glass storefront across the street.

This is great time for the city of Glendale. On Wednesday, our company, Caruso Affiliated, announced the expansion of the Americana at Brand to include a brand new Nordstrom store (“Nordstrom will move to Americana,” March 17). At the same time, we purchased the space in the Galleria II wing of the Glendale Galleria that is currently occupied by Nordstrom. Caruso Affiliated has made a significant investment in Glendale with the development of the Americana at Brand, which has already generated more than $3 million in new sales tax revenue for the city.

Borders bookstore, with its three-story curved glass front looming over Broadway and Brand Boulevard, is on its last legs, selling everything not bolted down as its corporate parent descends into bankruptcy. Adjacent shopping centers, the Glendale Exchange and Glendale Marketplace, have struggled for years. Across Brand Boulevard, the former Mervyns site has been vacant since 2008. But Rick Caruso is on a Glendale shopping spree. In the last few months the developer’s Glendale empire — the 15.5-acre Americana at Brand and a corner strip mall on Central Avenue — expanded to include two new properties flanking the Americana and another 140,000 square feet inside the Glendale Galleria.

Gretchen Hoffman GLENDALE -- Glendale Police are looking for a man who exposed himself to a woman in a Glendale Galleria parking lot. The woman told police she was leaving Nordstrom at about 10:15 p.m. Tuesday when a car drove slowly toward her, according to the police report. The driver appeared to be speaking to the woman, so she approached his car window, according to the report. When she got to the car, she saw that he was exposing himself, police said.

With the Americana at Brand continuing to nip at its heels, the Glendale Galleria today announced a new leadership team for the mega-mall. Larry Martin - who managed the Montclair Plaza for six years - will take over as general manager, the company announced, and Deborah Hearn, a commercial-retail property manager from Seattle, will come onboard as his chief deputy. Chris Bilotto, who was named as the senior general manager at the Galleria in September last year, exited in March and is now a manager for Reit Management & Research.

A slice of Glendale history will survive when the Americana at Brand unveils its new Nordstrom department store. Addressing concerns from the Glendale Historical Society, Americana developer Rick Caruso on Monday announced that he has agreed to use the façade of the former recording studio at 230 S. Orange St. in a pedestrian passageway next to Nordstrom. In February, Glendale Historical Society President John LoCascio wrote a letter to the Glendale Redevelopment Agency, saying the one-story brick building is a rare local example of the Mission Revival style, with concrete-capped buttresses and a curved parapet.

The chief executive of Glendale Galleria’s corporate parent this week said the mega mall will be renovated this summer, an announcement that came less than a year after the company emerged from bankruptcy. The news also came just weeks after major competitor Rick Caruso announced that he had bought the large Nordstrom space at the Galleria, and that he would move the high-end retailer next door to what will eventually be his expanded Americana at Brand. On Wednesday, Sandeep Mathrani, chief executive of General Growth Properties, said the decision by Nordstrom to abandon the Galleria in 2013 was the result of his company dropping the ball during its bankruptcy from April 2009 to November 2010.

Smart-A-Thon applications available LA CRESCENTA -- Applications for the annual Mary Pinola and Crescenta Valley Chamber of Commerce Smart-A-Thon are available. Applications are available at the chamber office, 3131 Foothill Blvd., Suite D. The event will be from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. March 19, at Verdugo Hills Hospital. For more information, call 248-4957. Janine Marnien Chamber mixer slated for Wednesday DOWNTOWN GLENDALE -- The Glendale Chamber of Commerce will host its February mixer from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Nordstrom Glendale Galleria cafe on the first floor.

Nordstrom - the high-end retailer that has come to life on a prominent corner of the Americana at Brand - will open on Sept. 20, officials announced Wednesday. Americana officials also announced that two big-draw restaurants will open in the outdoor shopping mall within a year. The Americana is also making $60 million worth of improvements along Brand Boulevard to create a grand lobby entrance leading to Nordstrom as well as street improvements such as landscaping and lighting, according to Rick Caruso, founder of the Americana's owner, Caruso Affiliated.

As one of many in North Glendale who have been addressing building design and related issues in our community the last few years, my interest was piqued when I saw the design rendering for the proposed new Nordstrom store (“City agrees to Caruso's plans for new Nordstrom,” Oct. 27). Is this design in keeping with the overall Americana at Brand style? Does it even blend in with it? Regardless, to me the design looks modern in style and like a “big box” store, relatively lacking in design.

High-end department store Bloomingdale's announced plans Thursday to become an anchor tenant at the Glendale Galleria, moving into the former Mervyn's site that has sat vacant on Brand Boulevard for years. It's a major addition for the mega mall that has struggled to retain its retail dominance against the growing prominence of nearby Americana at Brand, which is poaching Nordstrom after attracting other previously Galleria-only stores such as Apple and Sephora. Bloomingdale's, which according to the announcement plans to move into the 120,000-square-foot site at the corner of Broadway and Brand Boulevard by fall 2013, is expected to create 175 jobs and re-energize the fledgling intersection where Borders shuttered a prominent multi-story glass storefront across the street.

Glendale officials on Tuesday approved plans for the so-called “missing piece” at the Americana at Brand - a 122,000-square-foot Nordstrom along Colorado Street. Earlier this year, billionaire developer Rick Caruso announced plans to move Nordstrom from its site at the Glendale Galleria II - a major coup that would strip his main competition of yet another huge anchor tenant. Caruso has so far declined to discuss potential replacements for the current Nordstrom building, which he owns.

With the Americana at Brand continuing to nip at its heels, the Glendale Galleria today announced a new leadership team for the mega-mall. Larry Martin - who managed the Montclair Plaza for six years - will take over as general manager, the company announced, and Deborah Hearn, a commercial-retail property manager from Seattle, will come onboard as his chief deputy. Chris Bilotto, who was named as the senior general manager at the Galleria in September last year, exited in March and is now a manager for Reit Management & Research.

The chief executive of Glendale Galleria’s corporate parent this week said the mega mall will be renovated this summer, an announcement that came less than a year after the company emerged from bankruptcy. The news also came just weeks after major competitor Rick Caruso announced that he had bought the large Nordstrom space at the Galleria, and that he would move the high-end retailer next door to what will eventually be his expanded Americana at Brand. On Wednesday, Sandeep Mathrani, chief executive of General Growth Properties, said the decision by Nordstrom to abandon the Galleria in 2013 was the result of his company dropping the ball during its bankruptcy from April 2009 to November 2010.

A slice of Glendale history will survive when the Americana at Brand unveils its new Nordstrom department store. Addressing concerns from the Glendale Historical Society, Americana developer Rick Caruso on Monday announced that he has agreed to use the façade of the former recording studio at 230 S. Orange St. in a pedestrian passageway next to Nordstrom. In February, Glendale Historical Society President John LoCascio wrote a letter to the Glendale Redevelopment Agency, saying the one-story brick building is a rare local example of the Mission Revival style, with concrete-capped buttresses and a curved parapet.

The Americana at Brand has done more for the city of Glendale than anything or anyone I know that actually lives here. No longer do I hear, “Glendale!” Or, “where is that?” Rick Caruso has put Glendale on the map. People on the west side and other outlying cities all have heard of the most up and coming city in Los Angeles County. Leave Caruso alone. It’s quite obvious he knows what he's doing. That's why the City Council has given him almost a free rein. I feel that if people like Lisa Charles (“Rick Caruso and the Galleria,” March 31)

After millions of dollars and a public relations battle with the owner of the Golden Key Hotel, Americana at Brand developer Rick Caruso now may have to contend with the Glendale Historical Society. At issue is a brick building at 230 S. Orange St. that is slated for demolition to make way for a new Nordstrom slated for the site it and the Golden Key occupy. Caruso acquired the former recording studio building for $4.1 million in January, but Glendale Historical Society sent a letter to the city arguing it should be saved.