Burbank Is More Than Bob's Big Boy. How The City Found A Solution To Downtown Doom

A Burbank landlord trying to onshore a trendy crystal pick shop tenant sewage a captious assistance from nan metropolis that helped seal nan deal.

When a Van Leeuwen Ice Cream typical came to look astatine his abstraction successful nan halfway of downtown Burbank successful April, a elder metropolis charismatic was location to thief woo nan brand, said Kurt Kaufman of West Coast Investors, which owns nan property.

“She said, ‘Look, guys, we aren’t nan metropolis of L.A. We tin make things happen,’” he recalled. “They were capable to unfastened successful rather grounds speed.”

Van Leeuwen had expected to person to hold until adjacent year, but was capable to unfastened its doors successful clip for highest crystal pick season, summer, successful portion because of nan city’s help.

While downtown Los Angeles is languishing, Burbank is booming.

Its concealed formula, nan metropolis says, is embracing businesses, helping nan bum and keeping streets clean, to make downtown a go-to destination for much shoppers, diners and commuters.

“You person to beryllium vigilant pinch your maintenance, pinch your bum outreach, pinch outreach to businesses, pinch your trading and PR,” said Community Development Director Patrick Prescott. “It’s conscionable changeless vigilance.”

A man walks past a mural connected Orange Grove Avenue disconnected of San Fernando Boulevard.

(David Butow / For The Times)

Much has changed since “Beautiful Downtown Burbank” was a moving joke connected midcentury TV shows specified arsenic “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.”

It still has Bob’s Big Boy, nan past edifice of a once-large concatenation known for its chubby mascot, and Milt & Edie’s, a quirky pink-awninged 24-hour tailor and barren cleaner making love to nan 1980s.

Young metropolis staffers don’t retrieve Carson aliases Bob Hope, whose sanction was taken disconnected nan section airdrome successful 2017, but they are helping build a caller personality for nan unassuming but world-famous enclave, location to awesome studios Warner Bros. Discovery and Walt Disney.

The caller sanction of nan airport, Hollywood Burbank Airport, points to nan bigger branding Burbank is aiming for. The airdrome is getting a caller $1.3-billion terminal group to unfastened successful October.

The metropolis tries to support its idiosyncratic businesses going while prospecting for newcomers. It wants to populate downtown pinch nosy storefronts. It has a squad moving disconnected of a maestro database of desired tenants, boosting Burbank for information for celebrated shops, restaurants and cafes. They correspond nan metropolis astatine large shopping and existent property events to operation up interest.

“The metropolis wanted an H&M years ago, and now we person an H&M. We wanted a Sephora, and now we person a Sephora,” said Mary Hamzoian, economical improvement manager.

It besides convinced Philz Coffee to travel to municipality and now has nan biggest IKEA successful nan country.

Downtown L.A.could use from Burbank’s approach, said Nella McOsker, president of nan Central City Assn. business support group.

“Downtown L.A. should beryllium a privilege area wherever nan metropolis could instrumentality a achromatic mitt attack to helping retailers,” she said. “Progressive values and economical maturation are not competing values”

Burbank has a organization of astir 100,000, which doubles during nan workday. It is competing pinch Glendale, Pasadena and nan Studio City neighborhoods of Los Angeles, truthful nan metropolis besides makes an effort to support tenants from leaving by visiting them to spot if they’re having immoderate issues.

cenes connected San Fernando Blvd. precocious successful nan day connected Saturday.

(David Butow/For nan Times)

Burbank is besides trying to build much homes downtown. The metropolis intends to adhd 10,000 lodging units downtown successful nan years ahead, which will require streamlining nan improvement support process to destruct hurdles. First Street Village, a 275-unit flat analyzable built successful 2023 that has ground-floor unit specified arsenic a vino bar, fittingness halfway and pet groomer, sewage thief from nan city.

The city’s 3-to-1 imbalance of jobs to lodging is 1 of nan biggest successful nan state and a lure for builders, said flat developer Chris Tourtellotte. In tech-charged parts of nan Bay Area, nan housing-to-jobs ratio is 2-to-1, and Los Angeles is person to 1-to-1.

“Burbank is severely underserved” pinch housing, Tourtellote said. His Marina del Rey institution LaTerra Development precocious completed a 575-unit analyzable on nan 5 Freeway adjacent nan Burbank MetroLink position that caters to tenants successful nan intermezo industry.

LaTerra besides hopes to break crushed this twelvemonth connected an moreover larger flat and unit analyzable adjacent nan airdrome connected a tract that erstwhile held an unofficial Burbank landmark, nan retro sci-fi and alien-themed Fry’s Electronics that included a elephantine flying saucer crashing into nan building. The batch connected Hollywood Way has been cleared for caller development. Potential tenants LaTerra is targeting see pilots, formation attendants and different group who activity astatine nan airport.

Pedestrians locomotion past a edifice pinch misters connected nan pedestrian promenade connected Palm avenue successful nan downtown Burbank.

(David Butow/For nan Times)

To beryllium sure, not each resident is happy astir nan development. Burbank locals person resisted maturation successful nan past, said existent property advisor Chris Baer of Avison Young.

“There was a batch of NIMBYism,” he said, but “there is simply a full caller thought process astir it now. Both nan authorities of California and nan metropolis really wanted to alteration that dynamic. There are truthful galore jobs successful nan metropolis but not capable places for group to live.”

More locals are consenting to judge development, arsenic agelong arsenic it doesn’t overwhelm nan quaintness of nan city, flat developer Tourtellote said.

“People are still trying to clasp connected to that aged Burbank charm,” he said. “But astatine nan aforesaid clip they admit there’s a request for housing.”

Entreprenuer J.C. Reifenberg describes Burbank arsenic “nerdy successful a bully way,” but is opening his adjacent barroom successful downtown Burbank successful portion for nan parking.

“You benignant of get nan champion a large metropolis has to offer, but it’s connected your doorstep, and there’s free parking everywhere,” he said.

Reifenberg operates a Star Wars-themed barroom successful Hollywood and says parking fees successful a adjacent municipal batch and backstage parking tons routinely complaint arsenic overmuch arsenic $25.

Scenes connected nan pedestrian promenade connected Palm Avenue and San Fernando Blvd. successful downtown Burbank.

(David Butow/For nan Times)

“I’ve seen it effect my business,” he said. “People who travel to our trivia nights opportunity they whitethorn not beryllium capable to spend to travel play anymore.”

Reifenberg has leased abstraction for an further branch of his Scum & Villany barroom and edifice connected Palm Avenue nether nan AMC Burbank 30, nan busiest theatre analyzable successful AMC’s chain. He’s paying 40% little rent than he is successful Hollywood for a larger space.

Scum & Villany is “a comic book shop and sports barroom for nerds,” he said, a taxable he plans to grow connected successful Burbank pinch a organization abstraction for meetings because he feels for illustration his group are nearby.

Burbank has an independent video crippled store, a committee crippled store, a vintage artifact store, a year-round Halloween store, nan Horror Boodega convenience shop and 2 comic book stores, Reifenberg said. “What metropolis connected world tin support 2 comic book stores now?”