DOWNTOWN DEVELOPER IN DOUBT CITY STILL SEEKING RIGHT FIT FOR EX-POLICE STATION SITE.

Byline: Sylvia L. Oliande Staff Writer

BURBANK - Another developer may soon be out of the running to revamp the former police headquarters site downtown - a piece of land that has been in a state of flux for more than two years.

Two developers, Legacy Partners and Cusumano Real Estate Group, are each trying to come up with the right combination of retail, commercial and residential space for the site, bounded by San Fernando Boulevard, Third Street and Olive and Angeleno avenues.

But the city's Redevelopment Agency is expected to recommend Tuesday that the agency board release Legacy from negotiations and concentrate on Cusumano. And if that doesn't work out, the agency might opt to start the process all over again and open it to anyone with a plan.

City officials said they are still optimistic about putting a quality project there.

``There's no doubt something will happen, it's just a matter of with whom,'' said Ruth Davidson-Guerra, a senior redevelopment project manager. ``There is interest out in the development community. We're just moving along in the process.''

In summer 1999, it looked like Zelman Development Corp. would be successful in transforming the 3.4 acres. But the company pulled its project in April 2000, citing an inability to make a hotel work on the site.

The city began working with Legacy Partners a few months later. In October, Cusumano entered the picture.

According to a city report, Cusumano's proposal, called Burbank Civic Plaza, includes a six-story, 100,000-square-foot office building and 24,000 square feet of retail space with a public plaza dubbed the ``commons.'' The residential component includes 98 luxury rental units along Angeleno Avenue.

Cusumano representatives did not return calls.

Legacy submitted a design that maintains the name Burbank Plaza, and includes a five-story, 110,000-square-foot office building, and nearly 9,900 square feet of retail space along San Fernando and Olive. The residential component has 150 luxury rental apartments along Angeleno and San Fernando.

Davidson-Guerra said the department is concerned about the configuration of Legacy's residential element, which was put around the above-ground parking.

Staffers also noted the purchase price the developer estimated would be paid to the agency for land was cut from $13 million to $5.4 million.

Legacy officials declined to comment.

One thing about the development that seems certain is it will not include a hotel, an element Burbank officials had wanted for the bed taxes it could generate. Neither Legacy nor Cusumano offered hotels in their proposals.

``In development, like everything else, there are trends and cycles,'' Davidson-Guerra said. ``At this particular time, hotels are more difficult to finance than, say, a residential project.''

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Map: Site of Development