CITY CENTER — Sandwiched between a 16-screen movie theater and a concrete parking garage rests a four-story wooden frame.
It’s the future site of the Burbank Collection, a mixed-use development that will feature 60 lofts and 58 condominiums on top of 40,000 square feet of retail space and more than 800 parking spots.
It is set to open in June.
“You can get a condo anywhere,” said Steve Howard, the project’s sales manager. “Ours is in the social hub of Burbank.”
The development in the heart of downtown sits across from AMC Theaters and shadows San Fernando Boulevard.
“You’ll have a bird’s-eye view to all the concerts in the summertime; you’re close to the Taste of Downtown Burbank and art fairs,” sales counselor Rebecca Koski said. “Plus, you’re walking distance to 80 restaurants, 150 stores, not to mention the restaurants and stores downstairs.”
The first level of the 60-foot-high complex has been reserved for retail.
“Pinkberry, Johnny Rockets and Skechers have already signed a lease,” Koski said.
Above that are the residential units, which vary in size and price, she said.
On the low end, a single-story, 1,140-square-foot unit with two bedrooms and two bathrooms will go for just under $700,000. The most expensive unit, a two-story, three-bedroom, three-bathroom, 1,909-square-foot unit, carries a price tag of more than $1 million.
“Our price per square foot is on the high side,” Koski said.
And some say that price tag is too high.
There are those in Burbank who have been priced out of the condominium market, said Judith Arandes, executive director of the nonprofit Burbank Housing Corp.
“The median income for a family of four is about $56,000 [in Los Angeles County]. I would say it’s higher in Burbank,” she said. “In order to afford [a unit in the Collection], you would have to have a certain income, making at least $90,000. There’s a disparity between what people pay and what they can afford.”
Councilman Dave Golonski also fears that the region is getting too expensive.
“People are being priced out of the market, and that’s a tough thing,” he said. “Condo prices have risen with house prices. It has gotten tougher, and not just in Burbank but the entire region.”
Alleviating the strain the housing market has on some is a constant work in progress, Golonski said.
