The I Heart Burbank team is thrilled to introduce plans to revitalize the Burbank Town Center mall and create a new community gathering space. In the coming months, this blog will highlight key features about the project while explaining the process and inviting feedback from the community. See the FAQ here.
With IKEA’s plans to build its largest store to date in the U.S. right here in Burbank -- relocating to a new site -- it left the property owners with a decision…“What to we do with this site?” This entire area along San Fernando Boulevard had been zoned for high-density office towers and hotels, but when the economy tanked they never came to fruition. Instead, big box stores and restaurants went up. Some made it, some did not.
With the largest parcel now open, it was time to revisit the planning process to determine, “What does Burbank need?”
The answer was clear: with a quickly escalating housing shortage and massive bleeding of tax revenue to shopping centers outside of Burbank, we needed to bring more housing to Burbank and redesign the existing shopping center into a revitalized “heart” of downtown and new gateway to the existing main street businesses against Magnolia Ave.
Central to the vision will be the addition of an open-air pedestrian plaza and new urban living options designed to infuse the area with a 24-hour presence of residents who will live, work, and create a sustainable community around the center.
For more information on the plans and “I Heart Burbank” call (818) 232-0774 or visit www.IHeartBurbank.com.