CITY TALKING TO DEVELOPER ABOUT PLAZA PLANS INCLUDE HOTEL, STORES.

Byline: Sylvia L. Oliande Staff Writer

BURBANK - A new developer will try to revive a long-awaited commercial and retail project that city officials hope will complete the picture of downtown Burbank as a shopping and entertainment mecca.

City officials said Thursday they are talking exclusively with Legacy Partners to develop an area on South San Fernando Boulevard.

Ruth Davidson-Guerra, senior redevelopment project manager, said the agency is optimistic as it launches negotiations. But since the site has had difficulty getting off the ground in the past, she hesitated to say that this will be different.

``I wish I could give the public the assurance but at this point in time, I can't,'' she said. ``Unfortunately we can't make any claim at all.''

A formal agreement for the project, to be called Burbank Plaza, has not yet been set, however. The developer is expected to go to the redevelopment agency with a detailed proposal within 45 days.

Officials at Legacy, formerly known as Lincoln Partners, did not return calls for comment Thursday.

The developer had been on the short list of developers to build on south San Fernando Boulevard before Regent Properties beat them out a year ago.

But with the demise of the Regent project, the Irvine-based company has a second chance at developing something in the burgeoning shopping district of Burbank Village.

The 3.4-acre site is located along San Fernando Boulevard, Angeleno Avenue, Olive Street and Third Street - excluding the Radio Shack store on the corner of Olive and San Fernando.

According to a city report, the preliminary plan being considered includes a 300-bed hotel, an office building with approximately 120,000 square feet of office space, retail space of about 50,000 square feet and a small residential component.

When Regent bowed out of its agreement in April, the developer told the city it was unable to secure funding for the hotel component.

So the redevelopment department went to three developers on the short list and asked them to submit two new proposals, one that included a hotel and one that did not.

Davidson-Guerra said Legacy submitted a total of five proposals and all were superior economically. Legacy estimated that the redevelopment agency's subsidy for the project would be up to $13 million but it could ultimately come out ahead up to $1.4 million in the deal.

Tenants of retail stores in the area who have seen developers and plans for the site come and go several times said they are taking a wait and see attitude with this new developer.

``We were so frustrated with the previous developer,'' said Paul Ehre, owner of Cloud 10. ``I don't know anything about the plans yet, so I don't know how much retail will be there. It was a two-and-a-half year wait for the other project so I'm not going to be a surprised if there is more delay.''

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Map: Burbank