Agency Seeks Office, Restaurant in Burbank

The Burbank Redevelopment Agency Tuesday directed its staff to seek development proposals that would add a 50,000-square-foot office building and a fourth restaurant to its small downtown “Restaurant Row.”

Under the redevelopment agency’s plan, an 8,000-square-foot restaurant and the office building would be built on a 48,600-square-foot site on 1st Street and Olive Avenue. A multilevel parking garage is also under consideration, possibly to be financed with redevelopment agency funds.

The agency has asked developers to submit proposals for restaurants and office buildings, timetables for construction and information on land acquisition costs and financing.

The agency approved the plan 3 to 2, with members Mary Lou Howard and Al Dossin dissenting. They said two restaurants should be built on the site and not an office building.

Three restaurants, built partly with redevelopment funds and opened in 1984, have been successful, said Burbank Mayor Mary Lou Howard, chairwoman of the redevelopment agency. They are Bobby McGee’s, Stuart Anderson’s Black Angus and Bombay Bicycle Club.

The deadline for proposals is Feb. 28, Howard said.