City agrees to buy 1000 S. Central for $24 million to create park in South Glendale; funding plan uses DIF, Measure A and school project transfers

The Glendale City Council on June 24 approved a purchase and sale agreement to acquire the property at 1000 South Central Avenue (the former Joanne Fabrics site) for $24,000,000 plus approximately $700,000 in estimated closing costs and broker commission, with the intent to develop the site as a park serving South Glendale.

Onik Bolanikian, director of Community Services and Parks, said the site is roughly 2.3 acres with a building footprint of about 0.83 acres and would add about 2.39 acres of parks/open space to an area the city’s 2015 parks needs assessment identified as park‑poor. Staff said the parcel could host active and passive recreation and that they plan a request for proposals (RFP) for a consultant to lead community outreach and develop multiple conceptual designs; staff estimated conceptual options would be presented within 9–12 months following close of escrow.

Funding and appropriations Staff told the council the acquisition will be funded from several sources: development impact fee (DIF) fund balances, a Measure A (Los Angeles County) grant award of $2,321,967 (staff said the city was notified of the award late the previous Friday), and transfers from city CIP projects associated with Wilson Middle School multipurpose field ($4,772,817) and Cerritos Elementary multipurpose field ($3,305,216). Staff described prior allocations to school multipurpose fields that had not been expended and proposed redirecting portions of those budgets to land acquisition. The staff report called for appropriation of $8,300,000 from DIF fund balance plus the Measure A grant and the transfers described above to support the purchase price and closing costs.

Council discussion and public comment Speakers thanked staff for long‑standing work to secure parkland in South Glendale and noted the site’s park‑poor designation in prior assessments. Councilmembers asked whether interim uses might produce rental income before park development and whether a combined housing/park project was feasible. Staff said Measure A requires the acquired land to be used for park/recreation and that using Measure A dollars precludes a mixed‑use housing option on the newly acquired acreage; they also said interim commercial/temporary uses had been inquired about by brokers but final interim‑use plans would come later. A public commenter urged care about homelessness and suggested holding the property without immediately spending on park construction, a comment staff acknowledged but did not treat as a motion to delay acquisition.

Votes and authorization Council adopted an amended resolution (staff asked to include CEQA exemptions for land acquisition in the resolution wording) and authorized the city manager to execute the purchase and sale agreement for $24,000,000 plus estimated closing costs and broker commission. The council also approved the appropriation and transfers from DIF, Measure A and the two school multipurpose field CIP projects as shown in the staff report.

Next steps If escrow closes, staff will issue an RFP for community engagement and conceptual park designs and return with site planning options, cost estimates and a funding plan for design and construction. Measure A funds require the property and resulting improvements be used for park and recreation purposes, staff said.

Ending Council authorized acquisition of the Central Avenue site, directing staff to proceed with closing and subsequent community outreach and design work; financing relies on a mix of DIF, Measure A and redirected CIP project balances.