DEVELOPER GIVEN LIMITED EXTENSION.

Byline: Helen Gao Staff Writer

GLENDALE - After working a year with the developer of the proposed Town Centre project, the Redevelopment Agency reluctantly agreed Tuesday to grant Caruso Affiliated Holdings a six-month extension to finalize designs and financial plans.

With its contract set to expire April 26, Caruso Affiliated Holdings had sought a one-year extension from the agency, but agency members turned down the request.

``My logic behind this is to make sure I light the fire under your feet,'' Councilman Bob Yousefian told Rick Caruso, head of the firm and president of the Los Angeles Police Commission. ``I want to be your first priority, not second or third. I want to make sure we move on this as fast as possible.''

With expenses outstripping revenues in the city by about 1 percent, some city officials are pinning their hopes on Town Centre as the next big sales tax generator.

Along with granting Caruso an extension, the Redevelopment Agency also allocated $295,000 to hire Impact Sciences Inc. to conduct an environmental study on the project area, bounded by the Glendale Galleria, Colorado Street, Central Avenue and Brand Boulevard.

Construction for the development - featuring housing, retail and a park - was slated to begin this fall, but the new start date is April 2004.