SEEING WHAT DEVELOPS DESIGNERS STILL COMPETE OVER TOWN CENTER PLAN.

Byline: Naush Boghossian Staff Writer

GLENDALE - Developer Rick Caruso, newly affirmed as the City Council's choice to design and build the $172 million open-air Town Center complex, can already point to a string of local successes in creating such ``lifestyle centers,'' his supporters say.

In granting Caruso an exclusive, eight-month negotiating contact for Town Center last month - despite a competing proposal from owners of the Glendale Galleria - city officials said they hoped to capitalize on Caruso's ability to create regional draws, like his successful development of The Grove at the Farmers Market in the Fairfax District.

Glendale City Manager Jim Starbird said the so-called lifestyle centers - which combine pedestrian-friendly settings with restaurants, theaters, stores and sometimes even housing - require a certain sensibility that comes from experience.

``It's all in the same very dense urban hub, so you have to ask yourself, why does one project fail miserably and why is Rick Caruso's Grove such a tremendous success?'' Starbird asked. ``It comes down to design, and instinctively what flavor does the developer build into their project. Not everybody can do it.''

The 16-acre outdoor retail complex is proposed between Central Avenue and Brand Boulevard, adjacent to the Glendale Galleria.

Caruso Affiliated Holdings, which has won national awards for its lifestyle centers, first won the rights in 2001 to develop an open-air retail, entertainment and housing project in Glendale after competing with 23 developers.

In addition to The Grove, Caruso has also developed the Encino Marketplace, the Commons at Calabasas, the Village at Moorpark and the Promenade at Westlake and Burton Place in Beverly Hills.

The Promenade, anchored by Bristol Farms Market, Mann Theaters, Barnes & Noble Booksellers and Cost Plus World Market, has won design awards and achieved greater sales per square foot than most malls across the country since its opening in 1996.

Critics characterize the lifestyle centers as simply ``malls without roofs,'' while supporters claim that description does not reflect the sophisticated planning required.

``Caruso's providing a place for community that goes way beyond shopping,'' said Sandra Kulli, who does strategic planning for home builders and developers and is vice chair of the strategic planning committee for the Urban Land Institute. ``It's a place with a social fabric and a gathering place for people in Los Angeles to come together. Rick Caruso has a rare talent. I feel that not anyone can do what he does.''

But would Galleria owners General Growth Properties - which has never built a lifestyle center - also be able to deliver the project, even with its extensive retailing experience?

``It's all retail real estate development,'' said Sharon Polonia, senior vice president of asset management at General Growth Properties.

Glendale Mayor Frank Quintero, who supports General Growth's bid to build Town Center, said General Growth absolutely is capable of building a center similar to Caruso's proposed project - and with less public funding. The city is contributing $60 million in Caruso's proposal.

``They're a multibillion-dollar corporation, they own 160 malls around the country, and they'll be hiring the proper architects. How could they not be capable of producing this?'' Quintero asked.

Dan McCaffery, president of Chicago-based McCaffery Interests Inc., which has won several national design awards for building lifestyle centers, said significant differences exist in designing a mall and a lifestyle center.

General Growth could very well build the Glendale project, McCaffery said.

While malls attract people by their sheer size and shopping options, the smaller lifestyle centers require a great deal more creativity to attract people with their ambience, McCaffery said.

Features at lifestyle centers, including trolleys, fountains and sound systems, make people feel they are in a pleasant, leisurely environment.

``I think there are a tremendous number of people that have chosen to build malls, but should they choose to build lifestyle centers they have the talent and creativity to do it,'' McCaffery said.

In fact, Caruso - who has maintained that it takes a special expertise to build a lifestyle center that General Growth does not have - has hired two former General Growth developers to work on the Town Center project, General Growth officials confirmed.

General Growth officials believe their Town Center plan and ability to build it if they get the opportunity is backed by their company's 50 years of experience in retail development.

The company has hired the architectural firm RTKL Associates Inc., which has designed popular centers in Southern California, including the housing component at Paseo Colorado in Pasadena, the Irvine Spectrum, Valencia Main Street and Fashion Island in Newport Beach.

``Anybody that has built any type of shopping center does not do it alone or all in-house,'' said Kris Longson, senior development director of General Growth. ``They all hire architects and consultants, but it's all about retail development. Putting a project together is understanding the location, the tenant mix and what works for the customer and the community in which you put the center.''

Naush Boghossian, [phone]

naush.boghossian(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

Developer Rick Caruso poses on the street of his successful project The Grove, next to the Farmers Market in the Fairfax district. Caruso has been named to develop Glendale's proposed Town Center project.

Charlotte Schmid-Maybach/Staff Photographer