Burbank Site : Planners Ask for Talks on 2 Mall Proposals

City planners on Monday asked the Burbank City Council for permission to negotiate with the developers of two of four shopping-center projects proposed for a 41-acre downtown site.

The Burbank Gateway Center proposal by the Alexander Haagen Co. and the Burbank Promenade proposal by the Price Co. and Kornwasser & Friedman Shopping Center Properties are worthy of serious consideration for the site, which the city has been unsuccessfully trying to develop for almost 20 years, planning officials said.

Price Co. operates the discount-oriented Price Club stores.

Talk With Developers

The planning officials said they want to talk to the developers before a final decision is made by the City Council. Council members are expected to discuss the planning department’s recommendation at tonight’s regular meeting.

A $981-million retail, office and entertainment complex by Triple Five Development Enterprises, which would have included a dolphin arena and a triple-level mall, was not one of the projects recommended--even though the planning officials described it as the largest “and most visionary” of the four proposals.

City Manager Bud Ovrom stressed that both of the recommended proposals need much work before one is selected.

“Both of those proposals have something to offer, but neither of them can be accepted as is,” Ovrom said. He said both projects only offer “half the shopping opportunities” the site could support.

At least one council member did not agree that the proposal by Triple Five should be dropped. “I’m not willing to throw that one out of the running,” Mary Lou Howard said.

The Burbank Gateway Center is proposed to be an enclosed two-level mall with adjacent offices, a hotel and restaurants totaling nearly 1.4 million square feet. The planning department’s analysis cites Haagen’s extensive experience in developing malls in Southern California and the project’s proposed inclusion of the Ikea department store.

The Burbank Promenade proposal calls for a two-level open-air mall anchored by the Price Club, Home Depot and other shops. The project would total 1.7 million square feet and would cost about $223 million, developers say.

The Price Co. and Kornwasser & Friedman proposal offers the best design and would provide across-the-board shopping appeal for the largest number of people, planning officials said. They said Burbank would derive the most financial benefit from the predominantly retail project.

The analysis described the Triple Five proposal, “Fashion Mall at Burbank,” as the only one to promise top-quality department stores, such as B. Altman and Bonwit Teller.

But Ovrom said the proposal was not recommended because it is “more talk than substance, although we would love for it to be true.”

The Fashion Mall at Burbank proposal called for a 6-million-square-foot retail, office and hotel center with a miniature golf course and an arena where spectators could observe dolphin shows.

Officials felt that with the proximity of several amusement parks and other entertainment, “a dolphin show and a miniature golf course simply are not going to constitute enough entertainment to attract people to a shopping center,” the analysis said.