Glendale eyes downtown redevelopment as new city manager brings proven track record

Article originally posted on Phoenix Business Journal on June 26, 2026

Glendale just built out a brand-new $100 million downtown city hall complex. Its new city manager is hoping to get a redeveloped historic shopping and dining district to match.

Glendale is probably best known for State Farm Stadium and its Westgate Entertainment District, but a bit further east along Grand and 59th Avenues lies its original townsite and downtown, dating back to the late 1800s.

Many of the historic properties scattered around the area along Glendale Avenue sit vacant and aging. Perhaps most notable is the former Beet Sugar Factory, a towering, hard-to-miss structure at 52nd Avenue that served as a beet sugar processing facility. It was built in 1906 and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Back then, the factory was the largest ever capital investment project in Maricopa County, according to Patrick Banger, Glendale’s new city manager who stepped into the role earlier this year.

Banger previously worked in the East Valley as Gilbert’s town manager, where he led the revitalization of that city’s downtown. Now that area, called the Gilbert Heritage District, has a street lined with high-quality dining and shopping. The project attracted $387 million in private investment that ultimately led to 748,000 square feet of new development.

Banger is aiming to do the same now in Glendale, as part of a strategy to better capitalize on the growth and investment happening on the other side of the city.

Glendale’s Entertainment District off the Loop 101 draws visitors from around the state to sporting events and concerts. Several new hotels are underway in the area, including the long-delayed VAI Resort, which still has no set opening date.

The city needs another attraction though – like a vibrant downtown – to capture even more tourism dollars by keeping guests in Glendale, according to Banger.

Early stages of a major development

The redevelopment of Glendale’s City Hall complex took several years and included overhauling its amphitheater while preserving the 113-year-old Murphy Park where it’s located. Phoenix-based Holly Street Studio and Tempe-based Okland Construction Co. Inc. were selected through a request for proposals to lead the entire project’s design and construction.

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