Local News in Brief : Burbank Council Approves 2 Major Downtown Projects

The Burbank City Council on Tuesday approved the development of a $10-million retail shopping and senior-citizen housing project on the city’s Golden Mall and an $11-million office and restaurant project that officials said would be a “prominent gateway” into downtown Burbank.

The gateway project will be built on city redevelopment property at the northeast corner of First Street and Olive Avenue by the Cusumano Brothers Partnership, city officials said. The 70,000-square-foot site was sold to the developers for $925,000.

The development will consist of a 55,000- to 60,000-square-foot office building, a 7,000-square-foot, free-standing restaurant and a parking structure with 455 spaces. Construction is expected to take at least two years, officials said.

The restaurant will be an upscale coffee shop that will probably be open from 6 a.m. to 4 a.m., officials said.

William Kelly, city community development director, said the project will enhance downtown entertainment. Several youth-oriented restaurants and a 10-screen movie theater have been built in recent years.

The four-story shopping and senior-citizen complex approved by the council will be built by developer Thomas Tunnicliffe. It will consist of 136 efficiency units on the second, third and fourth floors and retail space for up to six stores on the first floor. The minimum age of the residents in the project, which is expected to be completed by late 1988, will be 60, officials said.

The development will be at the intersection of the Golden Mall and Palm Avenue, replacing a building that now houses several businesses and a hotel.