Burbank Starts Digging Its ‘Dream’

“We’re going to see a dream come true,” Burbank City Councilman Michael Hastings said Wednesday as construction crews broke ground on the Burbank Gateway Center, culminating a 20-year struggle to have a major retail center built in the city.

The $250-million project--to include an enclosed three-level shopping mall with four office towers and a hotel--is expected to create 7,900 jobs and generate $8.4 million in annual revenue for Burbank. But city officials agree that the convenience of a major shopping mall will be the greatest benefit to residents.

“I think it’s a milestone for the city,” Hastings said of the project, being built by the Alexander Haagen Co. “People for years have been begging for a retail center.”

City Manager Robert Ovrom agreed: “It’s embarrassing . . . Here we are a world-recognized city. We’re known for Lockheed, the airport and the studios, but we’ve never had a decent retail core.”

Merchants Relieved

Merchants along Burbank’s Golden Mall, across the street from the Burbank Gateway Center site, expressed relief that the Haagen project is under way.

“It’s about time,” said Farron Frazier, a Burbank resident and assistant manager of Killeen Music. “Burbank has been asleep for too long. This is going to be nothing but good for business here on the mall. And it’s going to bring a lot of revenue for the city.”

Morey Goodstein, a 30-year resident and owner of Morey’s Shoes, said that he also expects to benefit from the customers attracted to the new shopping center.

“The more people they bring in this area, the better it’s going to be,” Goodstein said. “That empty lot has been an eyesore for too long.”

The main reason developers had been reluctant to participate in a major Burbank shopping center is that the city is so near the Glendale Galleria and other established malls in the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys, city officials said.

But Fred Bruning, chief of staff for the Haagen firm, said his company believes that times have changed and there is room for another mall.

“This is an extremely viable retail area,” Bruning said. “Some of the other malls, such as the Glendale Galleria, are turning away business because they are so crowded. We hope to capitalize on that.”

Modern Facility

Bruning said that the Burbank Gateway Center will have the advantage of being a more modern facility, with more parking and better accessibility because of its proximity to the Golden State Freeway.

Still, Bruning’s company has come under attack from critics for not being able to attract a high-quality department store to the center, which will be anchored by Sears and Mervyn’s department stores. Although Buffums department store has expressed interest in the project it has not reached an agreement with the developer.

Haagen, in a brief speech to the City Council Tuesday night, said he is convinced that once retailers see that the mall is actually going to be built, they will be lining up to join in the project.

“As construction gets under way and thousands of workers join with us in creating what will be one of the most exciting projects in America, I am confident that the entire retail community will take a new and fresh look at Burbank. No longer merely a city of promises, but a city on the move.”

An official ground-breaking ceremony for the Burbank Gateway Center is scheduled Oct. 19.