Burbank Towncenter Killed by Council

The proposed Burbank Towncenter, a redevelopment project plagued by delays and setbacks since it was planned more than a decade ago, was formally pronounced dead by the Burbank City Council on Tuesday.

The council, acting as the city’s redevelopment agency, found developer Ernest W. Hahn Inc. in default of its agreement to produce the shopping center for the city. Council members said the project was doomed by Hahn’s inability to find a fourth department store to anchor the mall after Robinson’s withdrew last August.

Representatives of the three remaining department stores--The Broadway, Nordstrom and J. C. Penney--previously said their commitment to the $158-million project was contingent on having a fourth anchor store.