Adams Square Mini Park construction starts

SOUTHEAST GLENDALE — All that remains of an antique gas station in Adams Square is its white frame on a plot of dirt, with its weathered roof peeling red paint.

But that will change soon.

Construction for the Adams Square Mini Park got underway Monday, the city’s contractor on the project, Vido Samarzich, said.

The old Streamline Moderne gas station at Palmer Avenue and Adams Street will be refurbished and incorporated into the mini park.

On Tuesday, crews removed the station’s old electrical conduits and removed windows, Samarzich said.

The park fits in with a revamped Adams Square area, and will provide a hub for the area’s residents, officials said.

“That lot has been an eyesore for the last 10-plus years,” said Hagop Kassabian, project manager with the Glendale Parks, Recreation, and Community Services Department. “[The park] will really improve the corner, which is a major gateway into the city.”

Whether to develop the park or preserve the Streamline Moderne station was the focus of tension in the community.

John Cianfrini, president of the Adams Square Merchants Assn., supported the complete removal of the gas station to make room for greener spaces.

“I didn’t want the gas station; I wanted a park,” he said. “I wanted a place where kids can go to.”

Cianfrini and his wife, Carol, own the Corner Stop eatery and Crysti Cleaners, which share the intersection with the new park site. Having a park with some parking spaces would be better for the businesses on the street, he said.

But the Glendale Historical Society and the Adams Hill Homeowners Assn. worked together to ensure that the gas station remained, said Glendale Historical Society President Arlene Vidor.

“It’s a landmark structure in the community that has been here 70 years,” she said.

Officials broke ground on the 12,500-square-foot park in June, and its building pace has frustrated some.

“They look like they’re playing,” said Albert Babakhanian, who owns and operates nearby Palmer Market said. “Three years they don’t do anything. And now they bring two people.”

Construction blocks streets and confusing parking fine regulations are detrimental to the area, Babakhanian said.

“We lose a lot of business,” he said.

The park is scheduled to open in December. Some of its planned improvements include open lawn areas, pedestrian walkways, a perimeter fence, children’s play area, security lighting, landscaping and irrigation and picnic and seating areas.