Glendale Shopping Center Getting Makeover
The Shops at Atlas Park is getting a facelift and some new tenants in an effort to make the struggling outdoor mall more appealing to a broader customer base.
“The center green wasn’t functional before,” said property manager Liza Diaz during a May 30 press event that was held at the outdoor mall.
The renovated green-10,000 sq. ft. of space at the center of the threebuilding shopping complex that was formerly an elliptical park-will include four glass kiosks, seating and a stage area that will play home to a six-week summer concert series, Diaz said.
Leasing agent Nina Maurello said the mall is looking to enlist retailers that can draw a wider clientele.
When Atlas Park opened in 2006, the original management targeted families with a $300,000 a year income and took on retailers that appeal to that set-an unrealistic assumption that led to poor business exacerbated by the recession, according to Pat Gatt, president of the Glendale Chamber of Commerce.
The Arizona-based Macerich acquired the struggling center, located at 80-00 CooperAve. in Glendale, for $54 million in 2011. Macerich also owns the Queens Center Mall in Elmhurst.
Forever 21 and Charlotte Russe are the latest additions to the shops and are set to open in July, according to Diaz. She said the Shops will begin reaching out to local merchants in the fall.
Gatt said members of the chamber “have been waiting with bated breath,” but she said she didn’t know any specific merchants interested in setting up shop in Atlas Park.
Diaz said Atlas Park plans on mounting an outreach program to court Glendale-based retailers, but wouldn’t go into specifics.
A fence around the center green and reports of groundskeepers cutting down trees sparked inquiries about the center’s future in March of this year.
Diaz said four healthy magnolias were preserved, but the rest of the trees were too unhealthy to be transplanted because the site is a brown field and the trees’ roots ran too deep.
The center green’s soil was replaced and new trees will be planted, she added.
There will be a roadway and parking spaces in front of the building that houses Regal Cinemas, Diaz said, adding the new thoroughfare should alleviate congestion during high-traffic hours.
Rep. Grace Meng and City Council Member Elizabeth Crowley, as well as representatives from several other elected officials, were on hand for the tour.
Crowley said the Shops have “great potential” and voiced her support for Macerich, saying it has a “proven track record.”
Brian Lindsey, the shops’ senior manager of tenant coordination, said the center green will be officially open by July 1.
