In the heart of the village, J. C. Richardson subdivided his property at the corner of Ivy and Fountain in 1884 into 8 lots, most of which were built on by family members.

Subdivisions within the heart of the village accelerated in the 1920s. The Forest Place subdivision of lots 56, 59, 60 and part of 58 was created by Mortimer and Marianna Matthews, surveyed and laid out by J. A. Stewart, engineer and planner, and recorded on August 10, 1925. It included 8 lots total; 4 lots on Forest Place and 4 lots on the south side of Erie Avenue.

By the mid-20th century, Glendale was landlocked, hemmed in by developing municipalities on all sides. With the construction of Interstate 75 in the 1960s, commercial and industrial development expanded rapidly in the Millcreek Valley, while shopping centers and industrial parks were built on the borders of the village. During the late 20th century, most of the open space around Glendale was consumed by suburban sprawl. Large parcels of land within the village were platted for building lots. Alarmed by these trends, preservationists sought to control development and conserve remaining open space.