Council’s OK Expected on on Plans for Burbank Mall

The Burbank City Council, after years of struggling to attract a major shopping mall to its downtown redevelopment area, is expected tonight to give partial approval to plans for a $250-million retail-office complex on a 41-acre downtown site.

After a public hearing, the council will vote at its regular meeting tonight on a developer’s application for a permit to build the proposed Burbank Gateway Center.

The five-member panel will vote on the second part of the agreement, which covers the city’s land lease with mall developer Alexander Haagen, at its meeting on Sept. 19.

City officials said Monday that they are satisfied with the proposal and predicted that plans for the shopping center would be approved.

‘Positive Move’

“I’m not aware of any problems,” City Manager Robert Ovrom said. “This is a solid project that is going to go forward.”

Councilman Michael Hastings agreed, calling the mall “a positive move for the city. We promised the people a retail center in Burbank, and hopefully, without any snags, we’ll deliver it.”

The Haagen development calls for an enclosed three-level shopping mall with four office towers and a hotel. The buildings range from nine to 16 stories and will be built on a site near the Civic Center. The shopping mall will be anchored by the Ikea furniture store and Mervyn’s and Sears department stores.

According to project studies, the shopping mall will create 7,900 jobs and generate an estimated $8.4 million in annual revenues for Burbank. But Fred Bruning, chief of staff for the Haagen firm, said the mall will provide even greater benefits for the city.

“We feel we’re helping to create a nucleus for a new downtown Burbank,” Bruning said. “This will provide downtown Burbank a chance to get on the map and provide a focus that will be meaningful.”

The city has tried unsuccessfully for almost 20 years to develop a mall on the site at Magnolia and Burbank boulevards near the Golden State Freeway. But projects proposed by several developers, including the Walt Disney Co., fell through.

Bruning said he is confident that his company’s project will be able to proceed as planned.

“We don’t anticipate any problems,” he said. “We’ve worked closely with the city staff for the last eight months. We have no reason to think that approval is not forthcoming.”

Bruning said ground-breaking on the project is tentatively set for early October.

The free-standing two-story Ikea store and an adjoining parking building will be the first structures built, with completion set for October, 1990, Bruning said. Construction on the retail mall, which would include Mervyn’s and Sears, would not start until early next year, he said.