Giving up cars is really the question, both for this development and ultimately for the Los Angeles area in general. This particular development does seems well suited for a low mileage lifestyle. Not only is the surrounding neighborhood walkable, but the proposed development is exceptionally well placed in terms of access to public transit. The Glendale train station is right next door, the Glendale Beeline buses run north and south, and the 180/181/780 MTA buses will take you east to Pasadena or west to Hollywood without any transfers.

Tropico Station:

You are absolutely right. While there are no homes or apartments south, east, or west of the proposed development, there are older homes and apartments lining the cross streets north of Los Feliz Blvd. between San Fernando and Brand. Those residential blocks are quite narrow close to the vertex of the proposed Glendale Triangle, then become longer to the north. The neighborhood has four different zoning classifications, and is a previous generation’s work in the field of mixed-use development surrounded as it is on the borders by commercial/industrial buildings and rear lot parking.

Current residents north of the triangle have easy access to public transportation and the grocery store and pharmacy I mentioned. They are within walking distance of a number of small, midsize, and large employers, and they are a short or long walk or public transport ride away from retail complexes in the Atwater/Los Feliz area or the Glendale Galleria/Americana complex. They are also close to existing retail storefronts along San Fernando Blvd at Los Feliz.

There may be good reasons for placing a new development of this size in a central, industrial corridor, close to public transport and potential employers, but it is an area that I’m used to traveling through at leisure without worrying about gridlock except at rush hour. I imagine residents of the immediate neighborhood would have the same experience.

Does the Tropico Station area need 218 more apartments, 54,000 more square feet of retail space, and about 400 more cars coming and going? I’m not sure that a walkable neighborhood in Glendale will benefit from this level of development at this time, when so many people still cannot give up their cars.

While the area just south of the proposed development is not residential, the cross streets to the north between San Fernando and Brand are lined with apartments and older houses.