The city of Glendale had a problem. Following the cycle of many city centers, downtown Glendale was heading for decay. Shops were vacant and some were boarded up. Neighborhoods were run down. Historic areas such as Catlin Court, Glendale's first residential tract platted in 1914, looked their age.

“We didn't want what had happened in so many other places to happen here,” says Mayor Elaine Scruggs. “We did not like where we were headed, and we knew we needed to change course.”

Looking Ahead
Scruggs, who has served as mayor since 1993 and as a city council member since 1990, says business community and city leaders met to discuss what should be done. Out of that weekend—called the Magnetic Mile Forum—developers, financial institutions and citizens came up with the seeds of a plan to revitalize Glendale's historic downtown.

The city would eventually form an “antiques district”—now home to 95 shops—and was named by USA Today and Sunset Magazine as one of the country’s 10 best places for antique shopping. The city also agreed to do everything it could to bring people downtown. “We started promoting the areas as entertainment shopping. We started attracting businesses to houses. It was like a snowball going downhill. We eventually went from 10 businesses to 95,” Scruggs says.

Those promotions took the form of festivals such as Glendale Glitters, a holiday lighting display now in its 11th year. “The response to the festivals was dramatic,” Scruggs says.

“People came in busses to shop and to see the festivals. We were getting known for holiday events,” she recalls. Articles started appearing in newspapers in other states. And more festivals began: the Glendale Jazz and Blues Festival, the Glendale Chocolate Affaire and the Glendale Hometown 4th of July Celebration.

In 1999, the city completed a downtown civic center as a way to draw seminars and other meetings. Since then, the city also has built a visitors’ center. A trio of museums, one of which houses a mammoth collection of beads, also attracts visitors. “We were and are continually working on ways to bring people downtown,” Scruggs says.

Growth Corridor
In the midst of these efforts, the city was looking around at areas of potential growth. The city council decided to set aside land along the Loop 101 corridor for “non-residential purposes,” Scruggs explains. “With a freeway coming through, you can expect some kind of development. We felt it would be best not to turn it into residential development.”

Eventually, the opportunity for development came with the name of Steve Ellman, a developer and owner of the Phoenix Coyotes National Hockey League team. Ellman and Glendale came to an agreement that the city would build an arena, provided that Ellman developed the surrounding 220 acres. That acreage would become Westgate City Center, a $1 billion development that at build-out will feature 6.5 million square feet of retail, restaurants and office space. Westgate will encompass 2,000 residential lofts, flats and condominiums; five major hotels for a total of 1,100 rooms; a 4,000-seat theater; an 80,000-square-foot convention center; and 25 restaurants. Currently, the city hosts many local and national events including the Fiesta Bowl, BCS College Championships, Superbowl 2008, the AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour and many more.

Immediately after its construction, Scruggs says, the Jobing.com Arena was selling out hockey games and concerts. “It’s absolutely amazing,” she says of the number and caliber of events. “Steve Ellman is doing a phenomenal job of programming events. He’s getting people out there and coming up with many different activities. There is something going on there every day.”
All of the positive activity in Glendale generated even more interest among developers and business owners. “In 2002, when we were selected for the University of Phoenix Stadium, people really started asking, ‘What is going on out there?’ Land prices shot up. Whole developments started springing up.”

One of those is the Zanjero project, a 152-acre development that includes a Cabela’s outdoor retailer, a Cracker Barrel restaurant, two hotels, and an urban village called the Districts at Zanjero. Zanjero will have 4.6 million square feet upon completion. Another development in the works is a Cactus League baseball spring training facility. And the list goes on.

Super City
Glendale spokesperson Julie Frisoni says that the mayor’s goal of making Glendale a destination is coming to fruition. “Glendale has always been a bedroom community. People lived in Glendale but worked in other places,” she says. “Now we have sports venues, an arena, a stadium. We’ll have seven hotels open by the Super Bowl. We’ll have 6 million square feet of retail, restaurants and dining. We’ve hosted a BCS Championship and the Fiesta Bowl. Now all of those people who live in Glendale don’t have to travel to other parts of the Valley.”

So what’s next for Glendale? Frisoni says that while Glendale is a great place for people to live, work and play, the next step is continuing the creation of high paying jobs. “In the last couple of years we have had some wonderful businesses decide to locate here. We would like to continue that concentration for our residents, so they can live, work and play all in their own backyard.”

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