Ford Buys 12-Acre Tract for Burbank Auto Dealership

Ford Leasing Corp. has completed its $12.75-million purchase of a 12-acre tract from Zero Corp., an electronics firm, to use as the site of a large auto dealership.

Ford Leasing Corp., a subsidiary of the Ford Motor Co., plans to develop the land near the Golden State Freeway and Burbank Boulevard with Bert Boeckmann, owner of Galpin Ford. The dealership is expected to open in 2000.

The deal was facilitated by the city of Burbank, which cobbled together a $12.5-million, 10-year incentive package to develop the planned $40-million dealership. The dealership is slated to sell Ford, Lincoln-Mercury and Jaguar vehicles, according to Boeckmann.

Boeckmann, a prominent San Fernando Valley businessman and powerful political figure who serves on the Los Angeles Police Commission, has said the cost to develop his dealership would have been prohibitive without the city’s help.

“It’s an attractive property, but if the city had not been willing to participate, we would not have gone forward with an offer,” he said.

“We are very excited about this,” said Mayor Bob Kramer. “It’s going to create a lot of new sales tax for the city and new jobs. And finally, people in Burbank can buy cars here. That will keep more money in the city.”

The dealership is expected to earn the city $55 million in sales tax revenue over the next 25 years and provide 300 new jobs, Kramer said.

“This is going to be a big boon to our city,” he said.