TOWN CENTER MODEL 3-D PLAN READY FOR PUBLIC REVIEW OF 16-ACRE SITE.

Byline: Nicholas Grudin Staff Writer

GLENDALE - What's being called the final piece of the downtown Glendale puzzle will be up for review Tuesday, and for the first time plans for the $172 million Town Center project will be available to the public.

A model of the 16-acre Brand Boulevard site - which will include two large department stores, a stadium movie theater, 300 condominiums and two acres of park - will be scrutinized and voted on by the redevelopment agency board in the first stage of design approval.

``It's all starting to come together,'' said the developer, Rick Caruso.

Those who have been working on the project are eager to see the first step complete. If all goes according to plan, an environmental impact report would be approved in June, and construction on the project could start in June or July, Caruso said.

``It's very exciting to finally put the finishing touches on the downtown,'' said Emil Tatevosian, a senior project manager.

Despite worries about the Town Center's impact on downtown traffic, Councilman Dave Weaver thinks it could become the city's crown jewel.

``This project has the potential to be a totally unique drawing card in the region,'' Weaver said. ``It will not only draw Glendale residents, but also people from Burbank, Pasadena and Los Angeles.''

Although specific tenants have not been determined and about 40 percent of the property - which lies just south of the Glendale Galleria between Central Avenue and Brand Boulevard - has yet to be acquired by the city, Caruso is already imagining big things.

``The model is very European,'' Caruso said, explaining that the 300 residential condos will be built above the ground-floor retail stores and restaurants.

The Town Center will be Glendale's fourth and final major downtown retail destination. The others are the Glendale Galleria, the Marketplace and the Exchange, all within three blocks of the proposed Town Center.

``Our intent is to complement, not compete, with what we already have,'' Tatevosian said.

IF YOU GO

--The Redevelopment Agency will meet at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday at Glendale City Hall, 613 E. Broadway Ave.

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Two Glendale city officials, Philip Lanzafame, left, and Mark Berry, show a model of the proposed $172 million Town Center project.

Phil McCarten/Staff Photographer

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IF YOU GO (see text)