Mayor Elaine Scruggs’
2006 State of the City Business Address

February 9, 2006
Glendale Civic Center

(Find a specific section of the speech by clicking the links below:
Introduction | Downtown | Jobing.com Arena | Westgate & Zanjero
Stadium | Annexation | Jobs | City Council Goals)

AS I HAVE SAID IN PREVIOUS YEARS, REDEVELOPMENT OF OUR DOWNTOWN IS ONE OF GLENDALE’S TOP PRIORITIES. LAST YEAR BROUGHT EXCITING PROJECTS THAT MEET THE HIGH GOALS WE SET AND CONTINUE TO PURSUE.

IN NOVEMBER, THE CITY COUNCIL APPROVED REZONING FOR A PROJECT BY VANGUARD CITYHOME THAT WILL RESULT IN DOWNTOWN GLENDALE’S FIRST NEW RESIDENTIAL HOUSING IN DECADES,AS WELL AS PEDESTRIAN-ORIENTED COMMERCIAL USES.

VANGUARD CITYHOME HAS ALREADY PURCHASED PROPERTY AT THE TWO SITES THAT MAKE UP THE TOTAL PROJECT … AND WILL INVEST MORE THAN $20 MILLION TO DEVELOP THIS MIXED-USE URBAN VILLAGE. THE 62 TOWNHOMES WILL RANGE IN PRICE FROM $250,000 TO $400,000 AND THE DEVELOPERS REPORT MORE THAN 200 PEOPLE HAVE CALLED TO EXPRESS THEIR INTEREST IN THE PROJECT.

THE VANGUARD PROJECT REPRESENTS A NEW CHAPTER IN OUR REDEVELOPMENT EFFORTS AND AFFIRMS THAT IT IS THE RIGHT TIME AND THE RIGHT PLACE FOR SUCH AN INVESTMENT IN GLENDALE.

OUR GROWING DINING DISTRICT IS CONTRIBUTING SIGNIFICANTLY TO DOWNTOWN GLENDALE’S MUCH-ENVIED REVITALIZATION. IF YOU HAVEN’T VISITED THEM YET, PLAN TO TRY THE TWO NEWEST RESTAURANTS JUST A FEW BLOCKS FROM HERE; LITTLE SAIGON WHICH OPENED IN SEPTEMBER AND ZANG’S ASIAN BISTRO WHICH OPENED IN DECEMBER.

THE OWNERS OF EACH OF THESE RESTAURANTS MADE VERY SUBSTANTIAL PRIVATE INVESTMENTS, AND THEIR EFFORTS ARE EVIDENT AS SOON AS YOU WALK THROUGH THEIR DOORS.

AND, WHEN YOU VISIT THEM, DON’T FORGET TO LET THEM KNOW THE MAYOR SENT YOU!

ANOTHER NEW ENHANCEMENT IN OUR DOWNTOWN IS THE GLENDALE GASLIGHT INN LOCATED ON GLENDALE AVENUE.

PAUL AND TERESA SEABROOK WERE CAPTIVATED BY THE CHARM AND OPPORTUNITY IN DOWNTOWN GLENDALE. THEY BOUGHT THE 80-YEAR-OLD RED BRICK BUILDING AND MOVED HERE FROM SAN FRANCISCO TO OPEN THIS BED AND BREAKFAST. INSIDE THEY HAVE CREATED A WARM AND INVITING SETTING THAT CELEBRATES THE HISTORIC CHARACTER OF OUR DOWNTOWN.

CITY REINVESTMENT IN DOWNTOWN PROPERTIES IS ALSO AN ONGOING STRATEGY FOR SPURRING ECONOMIC GROWTH.

THE CONSTRUCTION WORK YOU SAW AS YOU CAME IN TODAY IS THE CONVERSION OF A FORMER BANK BRANCH BUILDING INTO MUCH-NEEDED ADDITIONAL MEETING SPACE FOR THIS VERY CIVIC CENTER WE ARE IN RIGHT NOW.

THE BUILDING AT THE CORNER OF 58TH AVENUE AND GLENN DRIVE,
WHICH HOUSES THE WORLD-RENOWNED BEAD MUSEUM, IS ALSO BEING REMODELED AND EXPANDED.

BETWEEN THOSE TWO CITY-OWNED BUILDINGS IS AN ATTRACTIVE
NEW OUTDOOR PLAZA.

WHEN COMPLETED IN JUST A FEW MONTHS, THIS $3 MILLION PROJECT
WILL ENHANCE BUSINESS, CULTURAL AND VISITOR AMENITIES IN OUR DOWNTOWN.

ALL OF THESE NEW PROJECTS, AS WELL AS THOSE WHICH WILL BE FOLLOWING SOON, WILL BENEFIT SIGNIFICANTLY FROM THE
RECONSTRUCTION OF THE INTERSECTION OF GLENDALE, 59TH AND GRAND AVENUES.

WHEN I SPOKE TO YOU LAST YEAR, I SAID THAT ONE OF THE IMPEDIMENTS TO INCREASED ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR DOWNTOWN HAS BEEN THE SIX-WAY INTERSECTION AT GRAND AVENUE.

THAT LONG-TIME BARRIER WILL SOON BE REMOVED FOREVER.
THE STATE’S FIVE-YEAR-LONG, $100-MILLION DOLLAR MODERNIZATION OF ONE OF THE VALLEY’S OLDEST AND MOST IMPORTANT THOROUGHFARES WILL BE COMPLETED IN JUST A FEW MONTHS.

THE NEWLY-CONSTRUCTED INTERSECTION OF 59TH AVENUE AND GLENDALE OPENED LAST NOVEMBER.

THE SECTION OF GRAND – WHICH WILL PASS UNDER GLENDALE AND 59TH AVENUE – WILL REOPEN THIS SUMMER.

THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT IN SPITE OF THE GRAND AVENUE RECONSTRUCTION PROJECT, OUR DOWNTOWN BUSINESSES ENJOYED INCREASES IN SALES REVENUES AND NUMBERS OF VISITORS LAST YEAR.

A LARGE PART OF THEIR SUCCESS CAN BE ATTRIBUTED TO THE DOWNTOWN MARKETING ADVISORY GROUP WHICH WAS CREATED IN 2005 TO HELP MAKE SURE EVERYONE KNOWS THAT DOWNTOWN IS “OPEN FOR BUSINESS” DURING THE GRAND AVENUE RECONSTRUCTION.

IN ADDITION TO THE NEW, IMPROVED ROADWAY, THE CITY OF GLENDALE HAS INVESTED MONEY TO BUILD AN ENHANCED PEDESTRIAN WALKWAY OVER GRAND AVENUE – COMPLETE WITH LUSH LANDSCAPING AND ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES. THIS PROJECT WILL BRING UNPRECEDENTED IMPROVEMENTS TO THE ACCESSIBILITY AND THE APPEARANCE OF BOTH SIDES OF GRAND AVENUE.

OKAY, SO NOW YOU ARE PROBABLY WONDERING WHERE EVERYONE IS GOING TO PARK WHEN GRAND AVENUE IS REOPENED AND THE NEW, UPCOMING ACTIVITY IN OUR DOWNTOWN CONTINUES TO EXPLODE.
WE DO HAVE A PLAN FOR THAT AND I WILL TALK ABOUT IT A LITTLE LATER TODAY.