9 Firms Submit Grandiose Plans for Burbank Site

Most Burbank City Council members, still reeling from a marathon presentation Monday by nine companies that want to develop a controversial 41-acre tract in downtown Burbank, said Tuesday they were undecided on which of the ambitious projects would be best for the site.

Council members said they liked aspects of each of the proposals, and would like to combine some of them. But they want more information about what the projects would do for Burbank, what the developers would pay for the land, and whether any of the many proposed shopping centers would attract major department stores.

Other developers in recent years, including the Walt Disney Co. and shopping-center developer Ernest Hahn, failed in their attempts to develop the same property.

“I need to see some hard numbers,” said Mayor Al F. Dossin. “I want to make sure we get a large amount of quality retail on that site. And I want to sit tight and get fair value for that land.”

One of the only developers so far to offer a price for the site was a partnership of Kumagai Gumi Land California, the Christiansen-Geiger development firm and Fullerton-based Dicker Wormington Properties. Stephen J. Geiger told council members the partnership would pay up to $100 million for the property and would build a combined retail, office and entertainment area, along with 500 hotel rooms.

$1-Million Disney Offer

The Walt Disney Co. had offered Burbank only $1 million for the property. Disney officials had said they would build a $611-million retail-entertainment center, to be called “The Disney-MGM Studio Backlot.” They withdrew their plans when the project became too expensive.

City officials said at the time that the property could be worth up to $50 million if fully developed.

Geiger said the partnership’s project, named “Burbank Metro Center,” would be “a complete downtown,” a “billion-dollar project” featuring an overhead rail system from Burbank Airport.

Another developer, Edmonton-based Triple Five Development Enterprises, said that its “Burbank Pavilion At Star City” would be a major retail-entertainment center with a health club, a miniature golf course and a dolphin arena.

“Why a dolphin show?” asked Nader Ghermezian of Triple Five.

“Because people love it.”

Representatives from the nine companies presented formal proposals in a special meeting Monday. The companies had submitted their plans last month in response to an ad by the city distributed nationwide, and were required to pay $10,000 to present their proposals.

One concern dropped out, city officials said. A hotel, retail community shopping center and office complex had been proposed by Overton, Moore and Associates of Los Angeles, in partnership with Torrance-based La Caze Development. But the firms withdrew after City Manager Bud Ovrom said the proposal was insufficiently detailed and probably would be disqualified.

The proposals called for retail centers, multiplex cinemas, hotels, restaurants and office space.

The council will narrow the list of proposals by about half by Aug. 23. The remaining developers would be required to submit more detailed plans by the end of November. The council is expected to make a decision in January.

Councilwoman Mary Lou Howard said she was already leaning against one proposal, the “Cinema City” project by Los Angeles-based Standard Management Co. The project would be a combination of hotels, shops, restaurants, rental apartments, senior citizen housing and commercial office space.

“I definitely don’t want residential on that property,” Howard said. “We have enough residential in that area.”

She said she favored a proposal by the Alexander Haagen Co., one of the largest developers of retail malls in Southern California. The project would contain retail and office space, three restaurants, a theater and a 150-room hotel.

Most of the council members said they were waiting for staff evaluation of the proposals. “A lot of the proposals had tremendous merits,” said Councilman Michael R. Hastings. “But there were lots of promises made, and we’ve heard promises before. We have to look at what’s realistic. If Disney and Hahn couldn’t do anything on this site, what makes these people think they can?”