A railroad was critical to the city of Glendora’s creation in the 1880s, and extension of a new light rail system could be the key to economic revitalization today.
That conclusion is part of the recommendations from a team of USC Price School of Public Policy graduate students competing in the third annual Sunstone Economic Development Challenge @ USC Price. The challenge is a semester-long project culminating in a final report pitch contest that took place in April.
Team Glendora took second place in that contest, winning $3,000 provided by Sunstone Management. Team members were Mitali Jain, Vanessa Lock, Erick Morales, and Jilla Nadimi.
In a post-event recap, Glendora’s Director of Community Development, Jeff Kugel, said an approach the team called the Golden Thread Corridor had the best chance of becoming reality. That corridor would connect the Glendora Station of the Metro A-Line light rail system expansion (called the Metro Gold Line extension) to Glendora Village, the primary retail area for the city, and historic Route 66.
Kugel said that Glendora’s City Council discussed the idea of upgrading bus stops, particularly from the light rail station to the downtown core, and members were enthusiastic about the concept. The students’ recommendation to create the Golden Thread Corridor would rebrand bus stops along Glendora Avenue into “mini-stations” providing maps, community information, bike share drop-offs and more.
“Improving access to information at each hub can help users better understand and navigate the area, helping to create a cohesive identity that would also aid in bolstering the community,” Team Glendora’s report to the city said.
Kugel also said that the team’s recommendations for a restaurant assistance program and a workforce development program had merit, but that it was uncertain whether resources could be found to implement them. Another development strategy recommendation, vertical mixed-use development, had been discussed in the city and had met with some resistance from the community.
P3, public-private partnerships, are part of implementing all the recommendations. While the city government would drive programs like mini-stations, it’s likely that the private sector would implement them. On the other side of the equation, restaurant assistance and workforce training would come from government to private businesses.
Glendora is a city of more than 50,000 residents in the San Gabriel Valley at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains. The city boasts two top-ranked school districts and is home to Citrus College.
At the Sunstone Economic Development Challenge finale, judges praised Team Glendora’s multi-pronged economic development approach along with the specifics of the Golden Thread Corridor.
Cities interested in being part of the 2026 Sunstone Economic Development Challenge @ USC Price should fill out the Client City Intake Form. For more information about Sunstone Cities’ services, go to https://sunstonecities.com/.
About Sunstone Cities
Sunstone Cities is an economic development consulting firm that helps local government leaders unlock economic development, new business formation, and job growth. We partner with municipalities to identify and capitalize on opportunities for revenue growth and investment, relying primarily on expertise in creating Public-Private Partnerships (P3).