Burbank Official Rejects ‘Fortress’ Design for Towncenter

Burbank’s top redevelopment official announced Monday that he has rejected the developer’s design for the proposed Burbank Towncenter, a $158-million downtown shopping mall intended to be the centerpiece of downtown Burbank.

Larry Kosmont, director of the Burbank Redevelopment Agency, said his rejection of the plans by the EWH 1979 Development Co., a limited partnership of Ernest W. Hahn Inc. of San Diego, stemmed mostly from what he called the “fortress style” of the design. Under the design, the mall would be too self-contained and would not be intergrated into the existing downtown, he said.

Kosmont said he was not asking for a complete redrawing of the plans, but ordered the addition of features such as outside eating areas and picture windows for the department stores instead of blank walls.

Kosmont also said the designs, which were submitted last month, were not complete, and lacked details on landscaping and grading.

Kosmont said he did not expect construction of the Towncenter to be delayed. Diagrams for the parking facilities are due before Aug. 1, and half-complete construction drawings are due no later than Sept. 15.

Construction of the 790,000-square-foot retail center is scheduled to start early next year, and city officials say they hope it will open in late 1987.

Glen Felix, vice president of redevelopment at the Hahn company, said he had “no quarrel” with Kosmont’s criticisms, calling them “positive constructive comments addressing the greater need” to integrate the mall into downtown Burbank. He said the developers would be submitting new plans soon.

Kosmont said the city had invested more than $92 million in the redevelopment project.

“The agency is in the process of implementing and attracting new development into downtown Burbank with the goal of creating a truly urban setting,” Kosmont said in a letter to the developers. “The proposed Towncenter design is in direct contradiction to that goal.”

Kosmont said he wanted to avoid constructing a “suburban character” shopping mall similar to the Glendale Galleria, which he said had no relation to its environment.

The redevelopment director also said he wanted to have a “stronger visual and functional linkage between the Towncenter and the Golden Mall,” the existing outdoor shopping area that city officials hope will be revitalized by the Towncenter.

Kosmont said he did not know how his intentions for the project had been misinterpreted, but that he had advised the developer to hire an urban design consultant to help in redesigning the plans.

The Towncenter is to be built on 29 acres adjacent to the Golden State Freeway, and is to include four major department stores, more than 150 smaller stores and a publicly financed parking structure.