City reaches deal with downtown property owner

Paul Clinton

BURBANK VILLAGE -- The City Council, acting as the Redevelopment

Agency, approved a deal with Ed Giamela Tuesday to acquire the landlord’s

downtown property.

Giamela has agreed to sell his land to the agency to make way for the

$76-million Burbank Entertainment Village project that will be anchored

by a 16-screen AMC Theatres complex.

Giamela will sell his 7,750 square foot parcel to the agency for

$505,000, Redevelopment Project Manager Jack Lynch said.

Along with Fast Lane Boardshop owner Dan Wonser, Giamela had

previously resisted selling his property to the agency. The city and

Giamela had traded offers for several months without reaching a deal.

Once the agency formally notifies Giamela of the sale, his two tenants

-- Stevenson Gun Country and Mingo’s Barber Shop -- will have 90 days to

vacate their shops, Lynch said.

Construction on the AMC Theatres project -- which will also include

restaurants and a health club -- is scheduled to begin in May.

Project developers AMC and Center Oak Properties have paid the agency

$2.4 million to acquire the Giamela and Wonser properties. Wonser turned

down the agency’s most recent offer of $650,000 for his 4,800 square foot

property.

The remaining money from AMC, approximately $1.3 million, will go

toward relocation expenses, Lynch said.