Glendora sits in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, 25 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles. The bedroom community of more than 50,000 relies primarily on housing and retail business for economic development, according to Jeff Kugel, the city’s Commercial Development Director. 

Kugel and Tiffany Chew, Glendora’s Economic Development and Housing Manager, were the speakers at the Friday, Feb. 13, P3 Strategy Series on the Sunstone Presentation Stage.  

Glendora was a participant in the Sunstone Economic Development Challenge at USC Price in the last cohort, concluding in April 2025. A team of USC public policy graduate students worked with Kugel and his staff to offer recommendations for the city’s economic development future. 

“We’re working on completion of a general plan update,” Kugel said at Sunstone. “Housing is a key economic driver, and we are working to annex the unincorporated islands of land in our area to consolidate for development. 

“We’re also working on an economic action plan that includes a Shop Local program with the Bludot (a Sunstone portfolio company) system… We’re still on the lookout for more viable restaurants for the area.” 

Kugel said Glendora has embraced the call for more affordable housing, with a current P3 project underway at a 2-acre parcel of land the city purchased. A builder will use the land for a 75-unit affordable housing project, with some units set aside for permanent supportive housing. 

“There is a P3 component involved in most of our real estate work,” Chew said. “We are the regulators and the real estate folks are the developers. It’s up to us to make it workable…. There still opportunities in Glendora.” 

Kugel added that Glendora sees housing as an economic development tool. If housing is available, that brings customers to patronize commercial areas. 

An expansion of the Metro light rail system to Glendora is expected to help as well. The A Line (Foothill Gold Line) opened in September, connecting the city to downtown LA and beyond with public transportation. 

“I think the key with our residents is to build trust,” Kugel concluded. “We want to be transparent with what we are doing, where we are going.”