Design review board gives detailed requests but withholds endorsement for 682‑unit Central/California project; public raises historic and open‑space concerns

The Glendale Design Review Board on Sept. 11 provided detailed advisory comments — but stopped short of supporting the project as submitted — for a proposed eight‑story, 682‑unit mixed‑use development that would occupy a 3.7‑acre parcel downtown and make available a 0.87‑acre former Sears Auto Center parcel that the developer offered to the city for potential purchase and conversion to a public park.

Planning staff described the proposed development as 682 residential units, approximately 930 parking spaces (distributed across ground level and two subterranean levels) and a project floor area ratio (FAR) of about 2.98 with a maximum proposed height at one corner of roughly 95 feet after modest revisions since Stage 1. Staff said the project satisfies most Downtown Specific Plan (DSP) standards for setbacks and facade modulation, and noted the applicant requests density‑bonus incentives (including a request to deviate from the standard affordable unit mix) and waivers related to open‑space distribution. Staff recommended the board provide comments to forward to City Council prior to the final Stage 2 review.

The applicant team (AC Martin with developer partner Trammell Crow Residential) presented project goals of breaking the large massing into distinct building “communities,” providing a central public Paseo connecting Orange Street and Central Avenue, and activating corner plazas and…