Published on Tuesday, June 16, 2026
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This is led by the former Virgil's Hardware building converting into an upscale retail destination.
Retail redevelopment continues throughout Southern California, with architecture, planning and interior design firm RDC delivering on a major project.
The company has transformed the former Virgil's Hardware building in Glendale, Calif., originally built in the 1970s and has been vacant for more than five years.
But the 24,900-square-foot building at 520 North Glendale Avenue has now opened as a highly anticipated retail destination featuring a new upscale 14,900-square-foot Erewhon grocery store on the ground level, a 5,000-square-foot mezzanine floor and an additional 4,000 square feet of ground-level retail space with 1,000 square feet of mezzanine.
"Somewhat similarly to our work with Erewhon in Pasadena, our task was to rejuvenate a building that was once a beloved community landmark, recreating it into something that respects its past and also evolves it into a place for the future," Terry Todd, AIA, principal with RDC, told GlobeSt.com.
"Erewhon does a great job of immersing in the community, and the use of the existing building nods to the community while taking an environmentally sensitive approach. The Virgil's building in Glendale, while redesigned, was not demolished completely, leaving the bones of the building to support the new multi-tenant environment, along with a design that nods to the mid-century design that is part of Glendale's heritage."
The asset was acquired in 2024 by Erewhon, which redeveloped the property, working in collaboration with Long Beach-based RDC as architect of record.
Mid-century modern architecture with vertical fins and a minimalist aesthetic inspired the exterior design. New outdoor seating areas were added to the site, covered by steel trellis elements with retractable sunshades, space heaters and fans.
A significant amount of landscaping was added to the site as well, including a perimeter planter bordering the public sidewalk and raised planter boxes forming the boundary of the outdoor seating areas.
There are unique interior designs at every Erewhon. Here, wood banding is used along the perimeter soffit, while dark blue tile has been deployed at the service deli and tonic bar. The space has a dark ceiling with polished concrete flooring.
Elsewhere, demolition of Westminster Mall in Westminster, Calif., began April 15 when Shopoff Realty Investments officially launched the Bolsa Pacific redevelopment. The 83-acre site—once one of Orange County's most popular 1970s malls—closed in 2025 and is now being transformed into a walkable, housing-anchored district. It is being replaced with thousands of homes and new retail.
In May, 380 apartments were under construction on a portion of the Brea Mall property in Brea, California, formerly occupied by a long-closed Sears store—part of the mall's original 1970s retail footprint. The city rezoned the site to allow mixed-use redevelopment.