Burbank Town Center

Traffic was bumper to bumper on the streets and toe to heel in the shops of downtown Burbank on Friday afternoon as shoppers got in their last-minute gift purchases. With Christmas on the horizon, just four more shopping days were left, and the sales signs in store windows were not letting any shoppers forget it. The wintry displays in department stores with their stoic, scarf-wearing mannequins belied the rush and the urgency of red tag sales beyond boutique doors. But many shoppers, like Ted Liston, 50, of Tujunga, appeared to be in good spirits.

Early figures show significant holiday sales increases at the Burbank Town Center, eclipsing the modest gains reported nationally. Many Town Center retailers experienced gains in the neighborhood of 10% to 15% compared to the 2005 holiday shopping season, said Jim O'Neil, executive vice president of Crown Realty and Management, which owns and operates the Burbank Town Center. "Overall, the mall sales have bucked the national trend and we are experiencing some real positive numbers increased over last year," he said.

Desi Alvarado slid down an inflatable slide with her hands in the air. After she landed, she ran barefoot toward her father. "One more, one more," the 4-year-old said as she grabbed another ticket from her father's hand. She went back up the slide, and her 2-year-old brother, Ethan, followed. Desi, Ethan and dozens of children, parents and visitors took part in Burbank's "Summer Nights at the Burbank Town Center" block party on Wednesday. The outdoor event, which is in its fourth week, featured activities for children, food and retail vendors and a movie after sundown.

DOWNTOWN — The owner of the Glendale Galleria and more than 200 shopping malls nationwide filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Thursday, resulting in one of the largest real estate failures in U.S. history, analysts said. General Growth Properties, a real estate investment trust based in Chicago, accrued $27.3 billion in debt on its way to becoming the second-largest mall operator in the U.S. The company intends to continue operating all of its shopping centers, including the Glendale Galleria and Burbank Town Center, throughout the bankruptcy process.

Kids of all ages are invited to join Santa and all his friends to kick off the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. The Burbank Town Center, featuring the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater Los Angeles and a cast of holiday characters, will host the Annual Holiday Parade at 6 p.m. Wednesday. The parade will feature snowmen, holiday elves, glittery clowns, toy soldiers, gingerbread men, a teddy bear, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, a Christmas band, and Santa Claus in his horse-drawn carriage.

Mall to open early and give away Wii console The Burbank Town Center will open at 6 a.m. Friday for customers looking to get ahead on their Black Friday holiday shopping. Gift bags containing discounts and special offers for stores in the mall will be given out to early arriving shoppers. There will also be a special gift bag with a Nintendo Wii game system inside. The first 500 shoppers will also be eligible to receive a $50, $250 or $500 shopping spree in the mall.

Rima Shah Holiday shopping the week before Christmas has been sluggish locally, but retailers expect it to be a robust season overall. Some of the reasons behind the slowdown are online shopping gaining popularity and most people have already shopped for 80% of their gifts, said Jack Kyser, chief economist for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. Also, figures for gift cards won't be counted until recipients redeem their presents. "As gift cards are often not redeemed well into next year, the real story of Christmas may not be known until March or April of next year," Kyser said.

MEDIA CITY CENTER — Without the customary fanfare of a ribbon cutting, clothing retailer Loehmann's quietly opened its doors last week. Some shoppers milling around the floor on the store's first official day of business on Wednesday were surprised to see a Loehmann's in Burbank. "I didn't know they had one out here," said Van Nuys resident Angela Lopez, 35. "So I thought I'd pop in and look." Phasing in store operations through a preliminary "soft opening" before the official first day of business gives store employees the time to prepare for regular customer flow, said Ferdinando Forcellati, vice president of advertising for Loehmann's.

Rosette Gonzales Burbank kicks off the beginning of summer with a showing of "Freaky Friday" at its fourth-annual Outdoor Picture Show film series in the Ikea Courtyard tonight. Each Wednesday for eight weeks, the event will feature screenings of films including "Spider-Man" and "Harry Potter and "The Prisoner of Azkaban" at 8:30 p.m. outside Ikea, 600 N. San Fernando Blvd. Entertainment starts at 6:30 p.m. with Radio Disney and an appearance by "Herbie," the Love Bug car. A vintage fire truck parked nearby will be available for children to explore, along with the city's Kids at Play van and food vendors.

Downtown receives marketing awards Downtown Burbank received three marketing awards at the annual California Festivals and Events Assn. Celebration Awards held Feb. 19. Downtown Burbank secured first place for "Best New Idea" and took first and second place for Best Festival Brochures. The "Best New Idea" award went to Downtown Burbank for "12 Days of Holiday Cheer," Downtown Burbank's holiday collaboration with Burbank's Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department, Radio Disney, Ikea and Burbank Town Center.

Police are investigating a series of thefts in which a Cadillac Escalade and the third-row seat of a Chevy Tahoe were stolen in Burbank on Wednesday, police said. The 2003 white Escalade was stolen from the Burbank Town Center parking lot at 770 N. First St. between 2:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., said police Sgt. Darin Ryburn. Meanwhile, a third-row seat was stolen from a Chevy Tahoe at 240 E. Orange Grove Ave. sometime between 8:15 a.m. and 5:10 p.m. Anyone with information on the thefts is encouraged to call Burbank police at (818)

An aggressive bidding war for the operator of the Burbank Town Center and Glendale Galleria may be in the works after the company filed a reorganization plan last week in bankruptcy court, a move that has brought the local malls a step closer to full health, experts said. The plan from General Growth Properties Inc. would allow it to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as two independent companies with the backing of $6.55 billion from three investors, the firm said. But more than establishing its own restructuring plan, the filing sets the stage for other firms, like rival Simon Properties Inc., to make takeover bids.

DOWNTOWN — General Growth Properties Inc., the operator of the Burbank Town Center and Glendale Galleria, announced late Wednesday that it agreed to a $2.65-billion deal that would give a Canadian commercial real estate firm a 30% stake in the company. The deal with Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management, which still has to be finalized, would pull General Growth out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. Chicago-based General Growth is the nation’s second-largest regional mall operator, with more than 200 properties nationwide, including the largest retail destinations in Glendale and Burbank.

General Growth Properties, which operates the Glendale Galleria and Burbank Town Center, rejected a $10-billion bid Tuesday from rival Simon Properties Inc. that could have brought the firm out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. General Growth had considered the offer over the last week, before Simon Properties made the bid public, but in a response Tuesday said it had determined the offer was “not sufficient to preempt the process we are undertaking to explore all avenues to emerge from Chapter 11 and maximize value for all the company’s stakeholders.

In his Dec. 29 letter, “Columnist should apologize to mall,” Stan Hyman seems to be outraged over Robert Phipps taking kiosk employees to task (“Be wary of mall kiosks,” Dec. 23). In fact, Hyman goes so far as to call Phipps’ statements libelous without stating whether he has the legal background to make such an accusation, and goes on to state how he became personally involved by calling the general manager of the Fashion Center Mall in Northridge to discuss the column.

TODAY Breakfast with Santa will be from 8:30 to 10 a.m. at the Burbank Town Center, 201 E. Magnolia Blvd. Advance ticket purchase is required at the Community Services Building, Verdugo Recreation Center, Olive Recreation Center or Burbank Town Center customer service desk. For more information, call (818) 238-5300. The annual Holiday Candlelight Memorial Service will be from 1 to 2 p.m. at the Valley Funeral Home, 2121 W. Burbank Blvd. The nondenominational event will feature music, and Father Stan Harris will share words of peace and comfort.

For the last several years, Frank Corona, along with his wife, Heidi, have maintained the Halo 13, in the Burbank Town Center that sells everything from comic books, antique figurines, action figures, shirts and DVDs. But don’t call Halo 13 a comic book store; call it more of a collectible toy store, he said. “We get a lot of collectors here,” Frank Corona said. “Mostly people looking for that one-of-a-kind item.” Halo 13, although similar to the name of the video game, has nothing to do with the popular series, he said.