Owners look to ‘refresh’ Glendale Marketplace
A face-lift is dedicated at the Glendale Marketplace on Wednesday. The water wall at the entrance replaced the frog fountain that had been in place for several years.
The owners of the struggling Glendale Marketplace are hoping to turn things around with an initial remodel, one that saw the removal of the frog-trio water fountains and the installation of a large water wall.
“This is where the infamous frogs were with their missing limbs,” said Jeff Plauche, director of asset management for Cypress Equities, during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday. “We redid the water feature … it’s a refresh to make it feel more lean and inviting.”
The frogs that spewed thin jets of water over patrons were initially installed when the shopping center opened in the late 1990s in downtown Glendale.
The Marketplace was packed with tenants back then, but now there are barely any left on the ground-floor paseo walkway.
Dallas, Texas-based Cypress Equities bought the property two years ago and has since seen new tenants — such as DSW Shoes last year in place of the former Old Navy and Buffalo Wild Wings — open up shop.
A recent repainting-and-landscaping project was completed ahead of the anticipated opening of L.A. Fitness early next year in the former location of Galaxy Theatres on the second floor.
“We think by this time next year, we’ll be on our way to be a vibrant and successful shopping center,” Plauche said.
Expected to open around the same time are a Sally Beauty location and an AT&T store, he said, adding that he’s in talks with two food retailers and another nationwide store chain about moving into center.
Mayor Ara Najarian was in attendance at the ribbon cutting and said he envisions people coming to the Marketplace from across the street, where the Americana at Brand is located.
But Najarian also had something to say about the water wall.
“When the city of Glendale is turning off its fountains, I’m glad to see there’s some brave souls that continue to run the pumps,” Najarian said, jokingly.
A Cypress representative later pointed out that the feature runs by reusing water.
Plauche said Cypress specializes in buying “added-value” properties and talked a little about the relationship he envisions with the nearby Americana.
“We’re a little bit more discount over here,” he said. “We just want to supplement what they’re offering.”
Judee Kendall, president of the Glendale Chamber of Commerce, was also at the event and said she looks forward to what Cypress will do with the center.
“Now, we’ll actually describe this shopping center as the Marketplace rather than the frog center,” she said.
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Arin Mikailian, arin.mikailian@latimes.com
Twitter: @ArinMikailian
