Firm Pulls Out of Bidding on Burbank Plan

Public Storage, one of the six firms bidding to develop a controversial 40-acre parcel in downtown Burbank, withdrew from consideration this week after company officials said they did not feel the Burbank was sufficiently enthusiastic about their project.

Hugh Horne, president of the Glendale company’s real estate division, said that city officials told him that the company’s proposed project would probably not be selected. He said the city had only chosen to consider the project because Public Storage had offered to occupy as well as build it.

Horne said Public Storage was still interested in locating its corporate headquarters in whatever project is chosen.

Public Storage had originally offered to build a 1.2 million-square-foot office park and 247,000-square-foot shopping center.

The companies still bidding for the property include:

* A partnership of Kumagai Gumi Land California, the Christiansen-Geiger development firm and Dicker Wormington Properties of Fullerton, which proposed a retail, office and entertainment area, along with an overhead rail line that would connect downtown Burbank to the Burbank Airport. The partnership had offered the city $100 million to build the project.

* Watt Commercial Development of Santa Monica and Cusumano Development Co. of Burbank, which proposed a 1 million-square-foot office area, a shopping center and a 250-room hotel.

* The Price Club and Kornwasser and Friedman Shopping Center, which proposed a retail and entertainment complex.

* The Alexander Haagen Co., one of the largest developers of retail malls in Southern California, which proposed a retail and office project.

* Triple Five Development Enterprises, an Edmonton, Canada, company that proposed a retail-entertainment area with a dolphin arena and miniature golf course.