Burbank Gets Its Mall : Development: City officials host an upbeat preview of the long-sought Media City Center. The one-upsmanship with Glendale is already evident.

Two historic events happened in Burbank on Wednesday. A nightmare that lasted more than two decades came to an end. A dream that took more than two decades to materialize came true.

The events took place simultaneously in downtown Burbank as Media City Center, a $400-million indoor mall and office complex, threw open its doors to eager customers during a ceremonious “sneak preview.” City officials hope the mall will bring a strong retail base and a dose of respectability to the city, which has been the butt of Johnny Carson jokes for years.

The three-story center, with distinctive skylights and glass elevators, was partially financed with $50 million in city redevelopment funds and is expected to generate about $2 million annually in sales tax revenue for the city, officials said.

Construction of the mall had been clouded by failed promises, collapsed negotiations, economic woes and political turmoil ever since it was first proposed for downtown Burbank in 1979. Among the proposals for the 41-acre downtown site that were rejected or fell through was a $981-million retail-entertainment project with a dolphin arena and a $300-million festival shopping center by the Walt Disney Co.

There were more smiles than shopping bags during the daylong preview even though about 20 of the planned 130 stores in the 2.5-million-square-foot complex were open for business. Power drills and hammers sometimes drowned out easy-listening music floating from some of the boutiques.

Still, the event was hailed by Burbank officials and others as a triumph for the city. They predicted the mall would soon become one of the premier shopping centers in Southern California.

“Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines, the race is about to begin,” said Alexander Haagen, the developer of the mall, to 500 gathered during a breakfast in the mall’s massive domed courtyard. “This day belongs to all of you who believed in us.”

Mayor Michael R. Hastings added: “Burbank is on the threshold of the future. There were those who said Burbank can’t open a shopping center like this. It has. There were those who said the stores won’t come. They have.”

Hastings also used the occasion to make a quick barb at the neighboring Glendale Galleria, where most Burbank residents did their Christmas shopping, and the Glendale City Council: “They’re not here, but their constituents soon will be.”

The theme of the mall was described in a brochure as “a civic-design motif which recalls the rich architectural legacy of the 20th-Century public buildings distinctive to the city of Burbank.”

The first phase of the center, including a food court and a multiplex movie theater, is expected to be 60% completed in November. The complex is slated to be finished in August, 1992, and plans call for a 300-room hotel, 1 million square feet of office space and a 21,500-square-foot Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History branch.

Three of the mall’s anchors--IKEA, Mervyn’s and Sears--have already opened. Bullock’s is scheduled to open next August.

Councilman Robert R. Bowne said the timing of the preview “gives the city an infusion of excitement, especially on the heels of losing our industrial base.” He was referring to the impending departure from Burbank of Lockheed Corp.

Many who toured the mall appeared impressed.

“It looks just fine,” said Ken Milo, 68, a 36-year resident of Burbank who was browsing with his wife, Wintha. “It’s about time. I’m glad we’re only a mile away.”

Nicole Welsh, 21, a junior at Cal State Northridge, said: “I love it. It’s long overdue, but it’s worth the wait--especially when they get Bullock’s in here.”

Developer Ernest Hahn first proposed building a shopping center with five department stores on the site in 1979, but he withdrew that project, citing financial difficulties. He then planned the Burbank Towncenter, a smaller version of his original plan.

The Towncenter proposal collapsed in 1987 after 10 years of planning when anchor store Robinson’s pulled out and Hahn was unable to find a replacement.

The most ambitious project planned for the location came the following year when Disney proposed a large-scale shopping center. But the company abandoned those plans when the project became too expensive.

BACKGROUND

The Alexander Haagen Co., the firm that has developed several shopping centers including the $120-million Baldwin Hills-Crenshaw Plaza mall, was chosen in September, 1989, by the Burbank City Council to build the Media City Center at Magnolia and Burbank boulevards. Haagen was one of 10 developers who expressed interest in the site after earlier projects fell through. City officials said at the time that the Haagen proposal was the most practical and realistic. It is expected to create 7,900 jobs. Under the agreement with Haagen, the city will lease the downtown land for 55 years, with options to extend the lease to 95 years.