Foothill Retail Corridor

Worley Parsons Office at Huntington & Myrtle

Well, after all the dismal job loss reports I have posted over the last year, I am happy to report an actual job expansion here in our very own backyard. WorleyParsons, a Fortune 500 engineering and construction management company, will expand about 100 jobs within the city.

Currently, WorleyParsons has an office at the northwest corner of Myrtle and Huntington Drive and will lease about 24,600 square feet of space at 111 W. Lemon in the heart of Old Town. This will certainly give a shot in the arm to all the retail spaces along Myrtle Avenue with all those employees just a block away.

New Location for 100 Employees at 111 W Lemon

Now, if we can just get In-N-Out to do their deal with Home Depot so all those employees will have another lunch choice!

Chipotle is now open in the La Verne Courtyard at the southwest corner of Foothill Boulevard and White Avenue/Fruit Street, directly across the street from the ongoing construction of the new Staples and Marshalls. The center is anchored by Office Depot and Orchard Supply Hardware as well as some shop space. Chipotle is right next door to Blockbuster. I was there during lunch and there was a vigorous lunch crowd.

Construction is well underway on the new Staples and Marshalls in the La Verne Towne Center at the southeast corner of Foothill Boulevard and White Avenue/Fruit Street. Vons vacated the site in December 2010 after having closed their other La Verne location at Foothill and Wheeler and moving into a new location across the street at the site of the old K-Mart. Marshalls is also relocating from the northeast corner of Foothill and White Avenue/Fruit Street. Staples is a new addition to La Verne, with the next closest stores in north Pomona at Foothill and Towne, and Glendora at Gladstone and Valley Center.

A notice of default was recently filed for the venerable Star News building located at 525 E. Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena.

The 63,590 square foot building is 100% occupied with Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts, Technique Restaurant, 24 Hour Fitness, and a medical office use. The property is currently being marketed for sale at $19,500,000.

Santana’s Mexican Food will be adding their 13th location at the site of the former Arby’s at 700 E. Alosta Avenue, just west of Citrus Crossing Shopping Center. Evidently there is a huge demand for Mexican fast food in the area given the large number of eateries in the immediate vicinity. Being a huge fan of the cuisine, it is my goal to try them all!

This month’s entry focuses on the closures and layoffs of just Los Angeles County, rather than including nearby areas such as Chino or neighboring Orange County cities, simply because the list is growing too large.

What I find interesting in this list is the number of medical jobs being eliminated (City of Hope 185 employees and Antelope Valley Hospital 45 employees). Supposedly medical jobs are one of the growth industries. Not surprising, aerospace is taking another hit, with Ball (120), JPL (33) and Northrup (75) eliminating a total of 228 positions. With budget cutbacks and aerospace moving out of California, I think this trend will continue.

A smaller version of Petco called Unleashed has opened in Monrovia at 614 Huntington Drive in the Huntington Oaks Shopping Center.

The store, approximately 1,500 square feet, is much smaller than the typical 10,000 to 15,000 square foot store and will focus more on pet essentials such as food. One of the obvious missing items in the smaller format is the selection of live pets, however, they still have pet adoptions.

The Huntington Oaks Shopping Center is anchored by Kohl’s, Best Buy & Beyond, Marshalls, and Trader Joes.

The San Dimas Blockbuster at 1001 W. Arrow Highway will be closing as of March 14, 2011 as part of the company’s Chapter 11 Bankruptcy petition filed in September 2010.

There were a total of 3,306 stores in the chain, with Blockbuster operating 2,924 stores, and the rest operated by franchisees. Blockbuster closed 145 stores prior to filing Chapter 11.

The Glendora City Council approved the expansion of the Wal-Mart located at 1950 Auto Centre Drive from its current 125,890 square foot building by an additional 29,925 square feet. The building has an excellent location at Auto Center Drive and Lone Hill, with visibility from Interstate 210 Freeway.

Walmart plans to expand their grocery selection with the additional space. An extra lane will be added to the northbound Lone Hill lanes, making it three lanes.

No timetable has been announced.