Burbank City Council approves business park near Hollywood Burbank Airport
The last parcel of local properties formerly owned by Lockheed may soon become a new media and industrial hub for Burbank.
The Burbank City Council voted 4-1 on Tuesday to approve a project called Avion Burbank, a 61-acre development slated to include nine two-story office buildings, two retail or restaurant spaces, a six-story, 150-room hotel and six industrial structures, all to the northeast of the Hollywood Burbank Airport.
With that same vote, developer Overton Moore Properties is required to give the city an additional $250,000, earmarked toward any necessary traffic mitigation or calming measures needed when the project is being constructed or when it is completed.
Overton Moore has been in the process of developing the area, known as the B-6 site, since November 2015, when the company purchased the property from the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority for $72.5 million.
READ MORE: Industrial park near Hollywood Burbank Airport closer to becoming reality »
The project is planned to be located just east of where airport officials plan to build a 14-gate, 355,000-square-foot replacement terminal.
Timur Tecimer, chief executive of Overton Moore, said the Avion Burbank project will focus on attracting media and technology businesses both within and outside the city.
He said the company is eager to break ground on the site, which he estimates will occur some time in August or late fall.
Avion Burbank is on track to be the first major development to be completed in Burbank’s Golden State District.
“This is an extraordinary proposal for the city, and I don’t have any problems supporting it tonight,” Mayor Emily Gabel-Luddy said, adding she was impressed with the energy consciousness of the project, which will include having numerous charging stations for electric vehicles and the potential to have charging facilities for electric tractor trailers in the future.
However, a major drawback for Avion Burbank is its anticipated negative impact on air quality, according to an environmental report, both when the project is being constructed and when it’s completed. City planners also expect traffic congestion to worsen over time, according to the report.
To try and mitigate those issues, Overton Moore plans to create an incentive program for companies that encourage their employees to use alternative modes of transportation, such as utilizing two Metrolink stations — one to the north and another to the south of the project site.
Additionally, protected bicycle lanes will be installed along Hollywood Way to motivate future employees to ride their bikes.
Councilman Tim Murphy cast the lone dissenting vote, and he said that he would have voted for the project if it didn’t include a hotel, which he thinks will contribute to the increase in vehicle emissions in the area.
Although the developer is doing what it can to reduce its impact on air quality, Murphy said he doesn’t think it’s enough.
“I can’t commit to this project with the hotel, with the traffic, with the [increase in vehicle emissions],” he said. “I think it’s a great project in the right area that makes a lot of sense, until I read the [environmental impact report]. I can’t do that, not on my watch.”
anthonyclark.carpio@latimes.com
Twitter: @acocarpio
