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BURBANK MALL READY FOR ITS CLOSE-UP

Under its “Media Capital of the World” motto, Burbank — which is about 12 miles from Los Angeles — is home to some entertainment industry heavy hitters, including ABC, Clear Channel Communications and the studios of NBC’s Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Walt Disney and Warner Bros. Less known is this Southern California city’s reputation as a shopping destination. Hopes are high, therefore, for the $17 million makeover of Burbank Town Center, a 1.2 million-square-foot mall owned by Irvine, Calif.-based Crown Realty & Development.

To compete with the nearby, fashion-oriented Glendale (Calif.) Galleria and the upscale stores along Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, Crown Realty is marketing Burbank Town Center as a family-friendly entertainment destination, says Scott Trafford, an asset manager at the firm.

Burbank Town Center, originally called Media City Center, was built in 1991. Its renovation began in 2003 after Crown bought it from Vista, Calif.-based Pan Pacific Retail Properties for $111 million. Half of the three-floor mall, a mix of big-box retail, restaurants, specialty stores and two movie theaters, includes Barnes & Noble, Circuit City, Ikea and Office Depot on outparcels. Given the center’s proximity to Interstate 5 and the 134 Freeway, these stores are accessible and popular; the Ikea is the strongest-performing store in sales terms in Southern California, Trafford says.

The inside anchors include Macy’s, Mervyns and Sears. Among the other major retailers are Bath & Body Works, Forever 21 and Zales. The mall also houses two AMC movie theaters. With strong big-box performers in place, Crown Realty is now seeking more family-oriented retailers, such as a 33,000-square-foot Bed Bath & Beyond that entered last summer. Aldo, American Eagle and Old Navy are slated for this fall.

Earlier renovations connected the mall to Magnolia Boulevard, the main drag of Burbank’s village that contains a mix of quirky mom-and-pop stores and such nationals as Urban Outfitters. To attract people strolling down Magnolia, Crown spruced up the mall’s front entrance with new signage and a yellow color scheme. Restaurant chains were added to the front, including P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Pomodoro Cucina Italiana and Wahoo’s Fish Taco.

These front improvements have attracted a new demographic, says Sam Alison, a senior vice president in the investment property division of the downtown Los Angeles office of CB Richard Ellis. “They’ve done a great job at anchoring the street there.”

Trafford says the mall now posts about $444 in sales per square foot, up from $370 per square foot when the firms took over three years ago. The mall pulls visitors from the Studio City district in Los Angeles and as far north as Valencia, he says.

Crown Realty will be upgrading the food court with new seating and trash receptacles as well as a fresh paint job. The mall’s bathrooms will get an overhaul too. All this is scheduled for completion by next year.

The mall is a distant cry from the structure SCT visited in 2003 and described as “a stark fortress in downtown Burbank … featuring stone walls, heavy pillars and dark windows.”

“Five or six years ago, it wasn’t perceived as a strong retail center,” said Alison. “Now it has a very substantial future.”

— DS