Site plans for ‘B6 Parcel’ near Bob Hope Airport in the works

Near Bob Hope Airport, the $72.5-million sale of a roughly 58-acre piece of property sometimes known as the “B6 parcel” is set to close next month, and the buyer hopes to develop the site into a “best-in-class” business park with office, industrial and retail space, plus a hotel.

The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority, which owns the site and approved its sale to Gardena-based Overton Moore Properties in November, voted in closed session last week to set the closing for Feb. 25, one day later than initially planned.

NEWSLETTER: Stay up to date with what’s going on in the 818 >>

The Burbank City Council could discuss in March whether it will consider a General Plan amendment for the property, which is in the heart of a 540-acre area adjacent to the airport that is expected to undergo significant changes in the next decade or two, including a potential replacement terminal at the airfield and a possible high-speed-rail station nearby.

Timur Tecimer, chief executive of Overton Moore, said the firm plans to create a “special environment” that will attract well-paying jobs, though detailed plans are not expected to be made public until sometime after the sale closes.

Early conceptual plans show a campus with office and industrial space targeted toward tech businesses, manufacturing and research and development.

Formerly the site of Lockheed plant B6, the property has been referred to by different names — “B6 parcel,” “Opportunity Site” and “Trust Property.”

Tecimer said it will eventually be rebranded with a new name that gives a nod to its history, but the site itself is expected to appeal to a modern workforce with “state-of-the-art” facilities, transit connections and other amenities.

Councilman David Gordon said development in the airport area, including the B6 parcel and other possible projects, could bode either well or ill for the city for decades, “depending on how it’s done.”

Gordon said he’s discussed Overton Moore’s concepts and vision for the property with Tecimer and was impressed with the developer’s understanding of its potential economic revitalization and its suitability to the community. The site, Gordon said, has “a lot of upside potential.”

Connections to transit, such as nearby Metrolink stations, will be an important part of its appeal, Tecimer said, and it’s expected to be less dense than some of the studies of the area had indicated it could be. The good news, Tecimer added: “That just means lower traffic impacts.”

During an October 2013 council meeting, a city presentation of its land-use study in the area suggested there could be as much as 3 million square feet of floor space. Overton Moore’s preliminary plans call for an estimated 250,000 square feet of office, retail and hotel space, plus close to 1 million square feet of industrial space.

Overton Moore representatives are working to incorporate feedback from several Burbank city officials, so details are changing, Tecimer said. He declined to discuss specifics while they are in flux, to avoid “confusion in the marketplace.”

“We really want to button down our site plan,” Tecimer said, though he envisions a unique “campus environment” of small buildings with lots of amenities, including walking and biking paths and park-like outdoor areas that will likely attract cutting-edge firms and companies producing high-end products.

“You haven’t seen anything like it in the San Fernando Valley,” he said.

While Tecimer said he’s open to discussions with high-speed rail officials, the company can’t wait for uncertainties and questions about the future of the bullet-train system to be cleared up.

For example, the Los Angeles Times has reported that state officials are reconsidering a 2012 decision to build the first operating segment of the system from Burbank north to Palmdale and may start in the northern part of the state instead.

“We just can’t wait around,” Tecimer said. “We have a great opportunity to develop this site and to bring jobs to the city ... We have to move forward with our plan.”

--

Chad Garland, chad.garland@latimes.com

Twitter: @chadgarland