An unidentified presenter for the City of Glendale summarized the city’s 2025 economic development activity, saying the city assisted 285 businesses — including 141 small, female and minority-owned enterprises — and helped attract and retain more than 2,000 jobs.

The presenter said Glendale continued to build on the three-year economic development strategic plan launched in 2022, focusing on brand identity, business culture, the innovation ecosystem, and entertainment and lifestyle. “Glendale continues to be a place of great potential and opportunity,” the presenter said.

City officials’ presentation highlighted the local retail market, naming the Glendale Galleria and the Americana at Brand as major retail destinations that attract millions of visitors. The presenter cited a retail vacancy rate of 3.5%, describing that figure as a strong performance relative to the larger Los Angeles metro area.

To support small businesses and entrepreneurs, the presenter described several programs and partnerships: the Artsakh creative program, which provides short-term city-owned commercial space for retailers to pilot concepts; the Visit Glendale app produced with Visit Widget; the Evoke publication; and the third annual Small Business Summit, which the presenter said had more than 500 registered attendees.

The presentation also noted a new HR hotline for Glendale businesses in partnership with the California Employers Association to provide guidance on employment law and practices. For restaurants, the presenter said the city partnered with Famished, a third-party delivery platform that the presenter described as allowing local restaurants to keep more revenue by avoiding delivery fees.

Glendale’s tech ecosystem was prominent in the presentation: Glendale Tech Week drew over 3,000 attendees, and the transcript names partners and programs such as Founders Boost, Smart Gate VC, the Alliance for SoCal Innovation, and Hacker Fund’s Glendale Growth Alliance as contributors to hackathons, accelerator programs and venture pipelines.

The presentation listed several businesses that opened or expanded in 2025 as examples of vibrant local commerce, and closed with an invitation to explore the city’s amenities and opportunities. The presentation text is promotional in tone; statements of recognition (for example, being named the most business-friendly city) are attributed to the presenter and were not independently sourced in the transcript.

The next step indicated in the presentation was outreach and promotion of these programs to potential businesses and visitors; no formal motions, votes or policy actions were recorded in the transcript.