City eyeing property for condo, child-care project

Paul Clinton

AIRPORT DISTRICT -- The Burbank Redevelopment Agency has moved to

acquire the sixth of eight properties needed to proceed with a unique

housing project near Burbank Airport.

The Burbank City Council, acting as the redevelopment agency,

unanimously approved a deal that would pay owners Fernando Acosta and

Maria Mata $220,000 for their duplex at 2245 N. Fairview St.

The agency appraised the 7,500-square-foot property for $195,000,

according to a city report, but the two owners have not budged from the

higher figure.

Santa Monica-based M. David Paul Development has submitted plans to

Burbank to construct 20 homes and a children’s day-care center on a

1.5-acre site, which is bordered by Ontario Street, Thornton Avenue and

Fairview Street. The developer and city officials would like to start

construction on the $3.8-million project by mid-2000, but the

Redevelopment Agency has run into resistance from the remaining two

property owners.

The agency has made offers to those owners, John Weins and Evelia

Goebelsmann, but has yet to strike a deal, said Redevelopment Project

Manager Jack Lynch.

“We’re still trying to reach an agreement,” Lynch said. “They’ve asked

for considerably more.”

M. David Paul Development has given the agency between $2.5 million

and $2.9 million to acquire the eight properties, Lynch said.

The project will add permanent housing to replace the rental units

currently sitting on the property, Community Development Director Bob

Tague said.

“It brings town homes, so there will be much more ownership,” Tague

said. “It will bring some stability to the area.”

In addition, the day-care facility, which is planned to accommodate

100 youngsters from infant to 5 years old, will fill a growing need in

Burbank, Lynch said.

“It’s very acutely a problem in the country and the city,” Lynch said.

The redevelopment agency will subsidize some of the openings in the

child-care center to make the service more affordable, Lynch said.

Paul, who is also developing Media Studios North -- a 19-acre office

and studio complex -- in the airport district, said the area will be

changing for the better in the first decade of the 21st century.

“I think it’s the place of the future in Burbank,” Paul said. “It’s

got all the transportation modes close by.”