COUNCIL WILL DECIDE ON BURBANK MULTIPLEX.

Byline: Lee Condon Staff Writer

The fate of a $78 million project dubbed the Burbank Entertainment Village could be decided Tuesday by the Burbank City Council.

The panel will hold a public hearing and is expected to vote on the project, whose centerpiece is a new AMC-16 movie theater. The theater would replace the current 14-screen site the company has run in downtown Burbank since 1986. AMC wants to tear down its current complex and move it across the street. The new theaters would be built stadium style and have the latest in sound and projection technology.

``The AMC theater has had a very positive impact on downtown Burbank,'' said Councilman David Golonski.

He expects that the new project will help the city's downtown parking problem because it calls for the construction of a pair of 600-space parking garages.

``There's a significant amount of parking that comes with the project and that's a big benefit,'' Golonski said.

Besides the theaters, the project would include a 24-hour gym, restaurants and retail shops. Since the proposed complex is expected to draw a lot of theatergoers, diners and shoppers, Palm Avenue would be closed to traffic between San Fernando Boulevard and First Street, and turned into a landscaped public plaza.

The new movie theater complex would be built at First Street and Magnolia Boulevard, across the street from the current theater. Once the new theaters are ready to open, the old theaters would be closed and replaced with a parking garage, retail shops and the gym. Under terms of the deal, the city's redevelopment agency would contribute $9 million toward building the project, including $5 million for the parking garages.

The city expects to recoup most of that money through property taxes over 20 years. AMC is willing to rebuild the theaters because Burbank has been such a successful market for the company, said Frank Bruning, president of Center Oak Properties, which has become partners with AMC in developing the project. ``AMC thinks Burbank is one of the best theater zones in the country,'' Bruning said. The developers hope to start construction after the beginning of the new year and finish in spring 2001.