Glendale, CA Economic Overview
Glendale is a city located in Los Angeles County, and lies on the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley, intersected by the Verdugo Mountains. Located just eight miles north of Downtown Los Angeles, Glendale is the third-largest city in Los Angeles County, stretching 30.6 square miles, and home to just over 201,000 residents. Due to its advantageous positioning in close proximity to many of California’s larger cultural and economic centers, Glendale residents and visitors have numerous opportunities for entertainment, employment, and enrichment. Glendale maintains the second largest Armenian population in the world, providing the City with numerous Armenian coffee shops, bakeries, and restaurants. With over 50 public parks within the city limits, Glendale offers just as much nature as it does urban development. The Glendale commercial real estate scene offers high-tech office space that is ideally located for business, with many major national and international corporations situated in the downtown core, especially near Brand Boulevard.
The City experienced significant development in the 1970s, with the completion of the Glendale and Ventura Freeways, including the overhaul of Brand Boulevard and construction of the Glendale Galleria shopping mall. Glendale now attracts a vast range of businesses, due to its central location, public safety record, and robust financial environment. The entertainment industry in particular remains rooted in Southern California, with the Verdugo Region (Glendale/Burbank) known for production (pre and post), animation, visual effects, and digital distribution. Glendale has historically benefited from growth in this sector, through companies that have co-located with Disney and hundreds of ancillary production and equipment firms. Glendale also boasts excellent shopping centers, including the Glendale Galleria and Americana at Brand. Glendale also hosts a thriving technology-based industry, complete with a Fiber Optics Business Plan to attract and increase connectivity among technology-based industries in and around the area. The city recently hosted the Glendale Tech Week Pitchfest in June 2017, as well as a previous Glendale Tech Week in September 2016 and Glendale Tech on Tap Series. Several large companies have offices in Glendale, including the U.S. headquarters of Nestlé US, Americas United Bank, and the International House of Pancakes (IHOP). The City’s largest employers include Glendale Adventist Medical Center and Glendale Memorial Medical Center.
Glendale, CA Commercial Real Estate Market
In the 1960s, The Walt Disney Company took over Glendale’s Grand Central Business Centre, and today, the Centre is home to Disney’s Consumer Products, Disney Too Studios, Disney Interactive, the Muppets Studio, and Marvel Animation Studios. Several large development projects either recently completed or are underway in Glendale that will provide new commercial space. In 2016, the City welcomed the addition of new businesses, such as CBRE, Tom’s, TopShop, LA Fitness, Dicks Sporting Goods, and Eden on Brand. Business owners seeking rental properties for lease in Glendale, including office and commercial space, will find a city that provides a supportive platform, poised for future growth and development throughout the state at large. Glendale is currently home to a vast array of small, medium, and large size businesses and commercial enterprises. Many of the business owners who choose to establish operations in Glendale, seek out properties for lease in the downtown region of the city. Class A office vacancy was reduced in 2016 to 11.6% from an all-time high of 24% in 2010.
Downtown Glendale is a creative, tech-powered office space in the heart of Glendale’s retail corridor. Businesses located in the Downtown Glendale office market have premium access to the bustling northwest corner of Brand Boulevard and Wilson. Just two blocks away from the Americana and Glendale Galleria, businesses located here are just a few steps away from high-fashion retailers, high-class restaurants and more.
Glendale, CA Office Rental Rates ($/SF/year)
Data provided by Yardi Matrix, for properties larger than 50K SF.
Glendale, CA Office Sales
Data provided by Yardi Matrix, for properties larger than 50K SF, which sold at over $5M.
Glendale, CA Commercial Inventory Breakdown
Office Spaces
Total: 7,815,309 SF
By square footage range:
- 50k to 100k SF: 1,252,239 SF / 16.02% of total office
- 100k to 500k SF: 5,452,810 SF / 69.77% of total office
- 500k to 1M SF: 1,110,260 SF / 14.21% of total office
By class:
- Class A: 5,364,106 SF / 68.64% of total office
- Class B: 2,451,203 SF / 31.36% of total office
Industrial
Total: 1,391,138 SF
By square footage range:
- 50k to 100k SF: 629,077 SF / 45.22% of total industrial
- 100k to 500k SF: 762,061 SF / 54.78% of total industrial
By class:
- Class A: 52,248 SF / 3.76% of total industrial
- Class B: 1,338,890 SF / 96.24% of total industrial
Office Spaces with Retail
Total: 3,569,656 SF
By square footage range:
- 50k to 100k SF: 381,455 SF / 10.69% of total office with retail
- 100k to 500k SF: 1,851,909 SF / 51.88% of total office with retail
- > 1M SF: 1,336,292 SF / 37.43% of total office with retail
Employment in Glendale, CA
Over 96,000 individuals work in Glendale, with over 37,000 employees working in Management, Business, Arts, or Science occupations. The top three Glendale industries, as of 2014, in terms of employment were Healthcare and Social Assistance, Retail, and Manufacturing. Current projections indicate that, through 2022, the fastest growing healthcare occupations in Los Angeles County will include personal care/home health aides, orthotists, prosthetist, physical therapists, medical and clinical laboratory technicians, and nurses and nursing instructors.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the industries in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA area with the highest employment numbers include:
- Trade, Transport, and Utilities—currently employs 820,900, growing at 0.2%/year
- Education and Health Services– currently employs 781,000, growing at 2.6%/year
- Professional and Business Services—currently employs 615,900, growing at 3.1%/year
Education in Glendale, CA
The Glendale Unified School District operates the public schools in Glendale. The GUSD high schools include Glendale High School, Herbert Hoover High School, Clark Magnet High School, Crescenta Valley High School located in La Crescenta and Allan F. Daily High School. A number of private schools also operate in Glendale, including Chamlian Armenian School, Holy Family High School, Salem Lutheran School, and Glendale Adventist Academy.
There are 116 colleges within 40 miles of Glendale. The closest of which—under 5 miles from Glendale center—include Glendale Community College, Art Center College of Design, and Occidental College.
Commuting Time in Glendale, CA
Glendale offers many transportation options. LADOT, Metro Local, Metro Rapid, and Glendale Beeline all have buses that run in the city. Glendale Transportation Center provides connections to Greyhound buses and three train lines. Glendale is also served by four freeways: the Glendale Freeway (State Route 2), the Ventura Freeway (State Route 134), the Foothill Freeway (Interstate 210) and the Golden State Freeway (Interstate 5).
Employees in Glendale have a longer average commute time of 25.5 minutes than the national average of 24.8 minutes. The largest share of workers in Glendale drive alone to work, followed by those who carpooled and work at home.
Glendale Demographics
Population
- Total Population200,372
- Male Population(47.0 %) 94,261
- Female Population(53.0 %) 106,111
- Median Age41.80
Income/Financial
- Average Household Income$90,698
- Median Household Income$62,531
- Median Income Under 25$52,857
- Median Income 25-44$78,894
- Median Income 45-64$68,803
- Median Income Over 65$31,396
News
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Glendale, Calif.-based American Realty Advisors announced that it will soon be relocating headquarters to the Downtown Los Angeles office market – and that’s not the only interesting aspect of the ongoing ARA makeover. A leading provider of commercial real estate investment management services f...
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