Laura Sturza
Los Angeles land owned by the Burbank- Glendale-Pasadena Airport
is one step closer to being sold for $16 million since the Burbank
City Council approved the planned use of the 22 acres.
The land is part of the 81-acre Trust Property, which the city and
the airport agreed to sell to a third party for nonaviation use in
1999. How the airport will use the money has not been determined.
"We're just trying to close the transaction ... before planning
for use proceeds," Airport Authority Executive Director Dios Marrero
said.
The City Council approved the sale at its July 30 meeting.
The buyer, Voit Development Company, will build light industrial
manufacturing facilities on the triangular property that borders San
Fernando Road, Cohasset Street and the north end of the airport.
"The market in that area is very tight for newer industrial uses
for sale," said Tim Regan, Voit vice president for development and
acquisition.
The company plans to construct 450,000 square feet of concrete
buildings suited for post-production companies, Regan said.
While the buildings mostly will be marketed to sell for $90 to
$110 per square foot, rentals also will be considered, Regan said.
"We're seeing those prices on much older and inefficient
buildings," Regan said.
The project is a welcome addition to the area, since rent prices
will be lower than those available in Burbank, City Manager Bud Ovrom
said.
"[Their plans are] not in conflict with anything we are doing and
probably are complementary," Ovrom said. "It's good to have space
like that in your economic region."
The company is refining the site plan, applying to the city of Los
Angeles for entitlements and submitting a draft traffic study to that
city's department of transportation, Regan said. The analysis
includes the study of intersections requested by Burbank traffic
engineers.
Traffic in the area is not expected to dramatically increase.
"I do not think it will be a big jump [in traffic] over what used
to be there when it was Lockheed," Ovrom said.
The sale is expected to close in March.
