Bringing down the buildings
Ben Godar
The last remaining structures along the old police block will be
razed later this month, more than a year after their final tenants
moved out.
The buildings, at the corner of San Fernando Boulevard and
Angeleno Avenue, are being cleared in preparation for construction of
Burbank Village Walk and Burbank Civic Plaza, which will include
retail and office space, along with 140 apartments.
The strip of abandoned storefronts has remained behind a high
chain-link fence for the past year. Lucky Liquor, the last of the
stores to close, still displays a sign saying “closing Wed. July 10.”
City officials had hoped to demolish the buildings shortly after
they were vacated, but Redevelopment Project Manager Ruth
Davidson-Guerra said they were unable to do so because lead paint and
asbestos had to be removed. That delay meant the Redevelopment Agency
had to go through the demolition bidding process a second time.
“In a perfect world, we would have preferred these buildings came
down sooner, but we had a lot of uncontrolled variables,”
Davidson-Guerra said.
The new bids for demolition of the buildings will go before the
agency board Tuesday. Davidson-Guerra said she hopes the work will
begin within a couple of days.
While the dust from the demolition might affect his lunch
business, Gordon Biersch General Manager Ricardo Capra said he is
glad to see the buildings across from the restaurant finally coming
down.
“No matter how you look at it, it doesn’t look pretty right now,”
he said.
The buildings should be demolished by the end of the month, but it
will be some time before the developments become a reality. City
officials will review plans for the Burbank Village Walk in
September, but Joy Forbes, the city’s principal planner, said major
construction isn’t exactly around the corner.
“I assume the groundbreaking will be this year, but [construction]
probably won’t get into full swing until next year,” she said.
Despite the delays, Capra said the end product will be worth the
wait for area businesses.
“In a year and a half or two years, it will increase traffic in
the neighborhood and be beneficial for everyone,” he said.