RackedWire: Big Box Retail Positive for Compton, The Groveification of Glendale

Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.

RackedWire is the news and frivolity arm of Racked. When you see something tagged "RackedWire," it's a signal that what comes next is either important or really, seriously totally unimportant. Today, two items in the former category.

COMPTON— So far, so good, for Compton residents, who welcomed the influx of big box retailers like Staples, Target, Best Buy and Starbucks when the Gateway Towne Center opened in November of last year. The Los Angeles Times reports that though Gateway has only brought in a few thousand in sales tax dollars thus far, "City leaders expect the center will bring in about $1.2 million in sales tax a year," and remain optimistic with more developments coming in—including "the first phase of the Willow Walk Project, a $40-million town home and retail development venture" last December, and "another shopping center, with the British-owned Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market" across town, which prompted a quick visit and ribbon-cutting from Prince Andrew. Mostly, residents are happy to not have to drive to another city to shop. [LA Times]

GLENDALE— Denizens of Glendale might have been fighting the Americana at Brand mega-mall and residential project, headed up by The Grove developer Rick Caruso, but the City Council has sure come around, offering "to name a street into the complex for Caruso," per the Los Angeles Times. Upscale shops include Barneys New York CO-OP, Calvin Klein, Kate Spade and Tiffany & Co., while residences located above the retail will include 100 condos and 238 apartments, ranging from $2,060 to $5,500 a month. The paper also notes that there will be a central courtyard nine times the size of The Grove and, thankfully, a trolley! Whew—for a second, we thought they wanted us to walk that. [LA Times]