Media Village

Burbank, California

Project Type:Mixed-Use/Multi-Use

Case No:C032013

Year:2002

SUMMARY

A vertically integrated, family-owned development company that offers design, development, construction, and real estate management services undertook the redevelopment of a distressed, but centrally located and desirable, parcel in downtown Burbank, California, and built a mid-rise, mixed-use project on its 2.5 acres (one hectare). Uses include a 486-space parking area on three interior levels; 57,000-square-foot (5,295-square-meter) ground-level retail, restaurant, and office space; and 147 units of affordable housing for seniors on three stories above. Interspersed throughout are 71,250 square feet (6,619 square meters) of open-air public spaces.

FEATURES

Mixed uses, with each use type taking advantage of its relationship to the streetEfficiency of vertical integration of development companyAffordable housing for seniors in a downtown areaPromotion of pedestrian activity with plazas and colonnadesIntegration with community

Media Village

Burbank, California

Project Type: Mixed-Use/Multi-Use

Volume 32 Number 13

July-September 2002

Case Number: C032013

PROJECT TYPE

A vertically integrated, family-owned development company that offers design, development, construction, and real estate management services undertook the redevelopment of a distressed, but centrally located and desirable, parcel in downtown Burbank, California, and built a mid-rise, mixed-use project on its 2.5 acres (one hectare). Uses include a 486-space parking area on three interior levels; 57,000-square-foot (5,295-square-meter) ground-level retail, restaurant, and office space; and 147 units of affordable housing for seniors on three stories above. Interspersed throughout are 71,250 square feet (6,619 square meters) of open-air public spaces.

SPECIAL FEATURES

Mixed uses, with each use type taking advantage of its relationship to the streetEfficiency of vertical integration of development companyAffordable housing for seniors in a downtown areaPromotion of pedestrian activity with plazas and colonnadesIntegration with community

PROJECT ADDRESS

260 East Magnolia BoulevardBurbank, California 91502

OWNER/DEVELOPER

Gangi Development Company6252 Honolulu AvenueSuite 200Glendale, California 91214818-247-2414Fax: 818-247-7259www.gangidevelopment.com

ARCHITECT

Mark Gangi, AIA6252 Honolulu AvenueSuite 200Glendale, California 91214818-247-2414Fax: 818-247-7259www.gangidevelopment.com

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT

Larry Tison214 East BroadwaySuite DGlendale, California 91205818-241-9169Fax: 818-247-5827

STRUCTURAL ENGINEER

Group M EngineersP.O. Box 471Canoga Park, California 91305818-313-8680Fax: 818-313-8681jitumehta@aol.com

MECHANICAL ENGINEER

PALI Engineering400 South Beverly DriveBeverly Hills, California 90212310-277-1800Fax: 310-277-0514

ELECTRICAL ENGINEER

Zacharias Vorgias232 North Lake AvenuePasadena, California 91101626-577-0449Fax: 626-577-0538

GENERAL CONTRACTOR

Gangi Builders6252 Honolulu AvenueSuite 200Glendale, California 91214818-247-2414Fax: 818-247-7259www.gangidevelopment.com

SITE DESCRIPTION

Downtown Burbank was the original center of the production sector of the Hollywood entertainment industry; WarnerBrothers, Disney, Columbia Pictures, and NBC all had their primary studios there. But as the studios sought morespace—more readily available in outlying areas of Burbank and the eastern end of San Fernando Valley—the centralbusiness district experienced disinvestment and became a neglected downtown.

Burbank’s rectilinear street grid is bisected by the Golden State Freeway, now Interstate 5. The commercial districtremains north of the interstate, a major north/south corridor in southern California. Though industry thrived inBurbank due to the rise in the entertainment industry and the local presence of Lockheed Aircraft—now calledLockheed Martin—the city fell victim to urban sprawl, and downtown consequently suffered. An early antidote was thecity’s promotion of the eight-block Golden Mall, started in 1969, an unsuccessful attempt at a pedestrian mall. It wasreopened to cars in 1989. In 1970, the Burbank Redevelopment Agency (BRA) was formed, and in the early 1990s,the 41-acre (16.6-hectare) Media Center Mall, a major retail mall anchored by IKEA and Virgin Records, and includingan AMC multiplex cinema, was completed. Media Center Mall paved the way for additional downtown redevelopment,similar to the way Third Street and Old Pasadena revitalized the downtowns of Santa Monica and Pasadena,respectively.

One of these new downtown developments was Media Village, formerly the site of a Pic’N’Save, a regional grocerychain. Facing Media Center Mall, the site is bounded by East Magnolia Boulevard, Third Street, and Palm Avenue, andoccupies two-thirds of the block. A 20-foot-wide (six-meter-wide) public-easement alley, owned by Media Village,separates the site from the remainder of the block, which comprises single-level retail properties facing San FernandoRoad. The site slopes 5 percent from Third Street to the alley.

DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

The 212-acre (86-hectare) City Centre Redevelopment Area, which encompasses Media Center Mall and thecommercial district at the heart of Burbank’s central business district north of the Golden State Freeway, also includedthe declining Pic’N’Save parcel that Media Village now occupies. The BRA purchased the land in 1995, and issued arequest for proposals for its redevelopment among five private developers. Gangi Development Company (Gangi), innearby Glendale, was one of them. Gangi had been seeking its first suitable downtown mixed-use developmentopportunity, believing that the firm’s experience as a successful developer of multifamily projects and low- to mid-risecommercial office buildings was applicable to mixed-use projects. Such a project not only would diversify its realestate portfolio, but it also would, the firm’s principals believed, contribute to the community and be a major sourceof work in the future.

After the initial round of proposals, the leading candidate dropped out, and Gangi was chosen to negotiate exclusivelyfor the development rights. Gangi faced a number of obstacles, not the least of which was presented by Media CenterMall. It was constructed in the middle of the City Centre Redevelopment Area, its very size bisecting Burbank Village.With anchors at each end, Media Center Mall offered no pedestrian through-way. IKEA, one of the anchors, proved tobe a resounding success, drawing customers from throughout the region, but there was no easy way for thosecustomers to shop anywhere but in Media Center Mall. As with many indoor malls, the concept had not beenembraced by southern California’s retail consumers. Gangi resolved to make Media Village the opposite of an indoormall, with retail spaces facing the street, and to make the project a retail destination.

With Media Center Mall on one side, not promising much in the way of spillover customers, Media Village could look only to the other side, toward San Fernando Road, the major commercial corridor in downtown Burbank. There, too, retail customers were sparse. Big-credit retailers, such as Barnes & Noble, were more interested in San Fernando Road than they were in smaller mixed-use developments such as Media Village, but tenants were not leasing there either because of a scarcity of parking. Here, too, Gangi resolved to correct a negative feature, with more than adequate parking in its project, which Gangi expected would attract shoppers from the San Fernando Road retail corridor.

A city statute required that all entitlements be in place before the city would turn over ownership of the parcel to theprivate developer. Because the BRA had already targeted the parcel for redevelopment, there was a minimum ofregulatory obstacles for Gangi to overcome. The provision of affordable housing for seniors was a primaryrequirement; in assembling the parcel for Media Center Mall, the city years earlier had used up all its setaside fundsfor affordable seniors’ housing, and was faced with the possibility of having to return the amount to the state if theformer Pic’N’Save site was not developed for lower-income seniors. Thus, on a site that should have accommodatedprimarily retail uses, Gangi started with the affordable seniors’ housing as the primary mandate.

The primary objection that citizen observers raised was Gangi’s proposal to combine in one project a street-levelnightclub with housing for seniors above. The developer pointed out that the surrounding properties were also zonedfor nightclubs. Gangi convinced all parties that by preempting such a development with a nightclub under its ownroof, the developer would be able to control and mitigate its potential impact on seniors’ housing with creativeengineering and quality construction.

Gangi attributes Media Village’s success to two characteristics: its mixed-use development strategy and the verticalintegration of all development activities within a single entity. Gangi Development Company is a three-generationfamily-owned firm established in 1947. The founder’s son is now chief executive officer and his three sons areprincipals in charge of real estate/finance, architecture, and legal affairs. Each son has a professional graduate degreein his field, and the father heads up the contracting business, which continues to bid competitively on projects inwhich Gangi is not the developer. The firm, billing itself as a “unified team of professionals,” realizes economicsavings by keeping the entire gamut of development activity in house, streamlining decision making and operationalprocesses. The projects in which Gangi has applied this integrated approach—from ownership and planning to design,construction, and property management—have ranged in type and scope from seniors’ housing and retaildevelopments to custom homes and new communities. In addition to building services and construction management,Gangi offers independent services in land development, architecture, planning, real estate, financing, and propertymanagement. The firm’s structure differs from that of typical design-build development firms because it is led byarchitectural considerations in its development decisions.

DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION

Media Village occupies virtually its entire site at grade level, which pitches 11 feet (3.4 meters) from the upper side(Third Street) to the lower (now a pedestrian alley). The slope exposes an additional level to the street at the lowerside, allowing grade-level entrances for each use, while being separated at different levels. At street level is retailspace, and on the second level, which is exposed to daylight, is commercial office space. At the core of this secondlevel is 100-space structured parking for residents. Above these commercial layers are three levels of residentialunits, in a U-shaped arrangement along the perimeter on three sides, surrounding a courtyard open to the sky and toMagnolia Boulevard. Below grade is Burbank’s first subterranean parking garage, comprising 486 public spaces.

Construction costs for underground parking were minimized by creatively eliminating two high-cost items usuallyassociated with it: wall-shoring and ventilation systems. Wall-shoring was avoided by stepping the outside structureof the foundation wall away from property lines, thereby maintaining enough space so that the ground would notcollapse around them without the shoring during construction. An “ABC slot-cutting” excavation method—involvingthe excavation, construction, and backfilling of three vertical A, B, and C slots in succession—eliminated costlyearth-moving and off-site hauling. Finally, stacked ramps between the three subterranean parking levels function as alarge-scale duct system, eliminating the need for mechanically powered fresh-air exchangers. Access to the publicparking is from Palm Avenue.

The street-level retail spaces are set back from the sidewalk by colonnades and plazas, giving shade and shelter tostorefronts and pedestrians. The colonnades form regular bays, allowing for flexible merchant space that can beconfigured for 700 to 30,000 square feet (65 to 2,787 square meters). The Third Street elevation, which includes theresidential entry, faces a high-rise building, and is landscaped and set back an additional 20 feet (six meters) fromthe sidewalk. Facing East Magnolia Boulevard and Media Center Mall across the street are two 60-foot-tall(18-meter-tall) towers, connected but volumetrically disengaged from the rest of the building. They flank the openingto the residential level courtyard above the retail level, and one of them, turned diagonally to the street/building grid,marks the corner of the building. Between the towers is a two-level sunken public plaza, 55 by 150 feet (16.8 by 46meters), that accommodates seating space for a sports bar, and at the towers’ bases, a Mexican café and acigar/hookah bar. This arrangement permits patrons to be adjacent to outdoor smoking spaces, which by state laware the only places smoking is permitted in public. On the level above the cigar/hookah bar is a cigar lounge, which,because it is private, may be indoors.

At the northernmost corner of the property, at Third and Magnolia, is a 5,271-square-foot (490-square-meter) putting green associated with one of the tenants, a golf fitness center. The area is not fenced off or gated, and it is a welcome open-space amenity that produces income while helping to soften the solid volume of the building at the corner.

The through-alley, formerly used for trash pickup for the properties that back up to it, was turned into a pedestrianpaseo, enlivened with banners, paving stones, and planted and potted foliage. Now trash pickup is restricted tomorning hours, and movable bollards are used to block vehicular entry at other times. What was once an undesirableretail location has been made into a ballet studio, which offers outdoor performances in its courtyard. The studio’sspaces face the paseo with floor-to-ceiling glass walls, allowing parents and passersby to watch the school’s exercises.

A preengineered concrete forming system cut construction time and expense. The post-tensioned concrete slab floors,nine inches (23 centimeters) thick at the parking structure and the paved open-air terrace above, attenuate noiselevels, buffering the residential units from the music of the nightclub below. On this 115-by-220-foot(35-by-67-meter) terrace are large, above-ground planters that delineate multiple smaller courtyards; the plantersare designated for residents’ use as private gardens. The residential units are configured along open-air, single-loadedcorridors, with the corridors facing the central terrace. These circulation corridors act as wide balconies overlookingthe courtyard, affording the residential units cross-ventilation, and gathering spaces for the residents, appropriate forthe mild southern California weather. On the street side, each residential unit has a private covered balcony.

At Third Street, the residential component is at street level. A motor court provides direct access to the residentiallevel, as well as a vehicular entrance to the residential parking immediately below. Security was a primary concern;because the only residential entrance is located a block-long walk away and around the corner from the nightclubentrance, the residents have not noticed untoward traffic. (The exposed, open-air stairways, which appear more to be

sculptural elements, are exit stairs only—a requirement of the fire code.) When Media Village opened, the city bussystem established a stop at the motor court, further linking residents to the downtown. The provision of less thanone parking space per residential unit has been justified, as many residents have been able to forego car ownershipgiven such easy pedestrian access to downtown and public transit access to other parts of greater Los Angeles.

Most of the residential units are one-bedroom units; there are 27 two-bedroom end units, and in the towers. Theone-bedroom units are 12.5 feet (3.8 meters) wide, and they are configured to take advantage of the single-loadedcorridor scheme. Although double-loaded corridors are typically arranged with the bathroom and kitchen facing thecorridor, with a bedroom and living room at the exterior wall, Media Village’s one-bedroom units have the bedroomsfacing the exterior, just off the private balcony. Living rooms face the open-air corridor and the courtyard, promotingsocialization among units, with the bonus feature of an additional exterior wall for daylighting. In between the outerbedroom and the interior living room are the bathroom and the kitchen sharing the drainage-waste-venting andsupply risers. The two-bedroom units are similar, except that as end units, an additional bedroom with windows canbe fitted in at the end elevations.

The use of conventional wood-framing for the residential levels saved more construction costs. The fire and building codes mandated Type I (noncombustible) construction for the lower two residential levels, and Type V (one-hour) for the third level. Exterior walls are finished with stucco on lath. In harmony with the Bauhaus-modern style of architecture, minimal reglets mark the expansion joints along a modular grid. The stucco finish and expansion joint grid continue down to grade level, where the stucco is applied to either concrete block or steel stud frames.

TENANTS

The name Media Village trades on its proximity to its neighbor across the street, Media Center Mall, and its location in Burbank Village. Indeed, Media Village extends the village concept by functionally adding to the mixed-use appeal of Media Center Mall, and by contributing much-needed housing to downtown Burbank.

In addition to the vertical integration of the developer that Gangi cites as one reason for Media Village’s success, thedeveloper credits its mixed uses. The mixture of tenants diversifies the income stream and spreads operatingexpenses. The diversity enriches the village feel and adds to the multidimensional activity of downtown.

Gitana, a 20,000-square-foot (1,858-square-meter) restaurant, is the major retail tenant, offering food throughoutthe day. At night, it turns into a sports bar, nightclub, pool hall, and cigar bar. Additional restaurants include Picanha,a Brazilian grill and steakhouse; Café Asia; and Lupita’s Kitchen, a Mexican café. They serve not only Media Villageresidents and office tenants, but also workers nearby, such as those at Cartoon Network, a cable television contentprovider, which leased an entire office building adjacent to Media Village. Other tenants include a ballet studio, theaforementioned golf fitness training center, a tanning spa, and a computer training facility.

Because of the use of low-income housing federal tax credits and city-issued tax-exempt bonds to financedevelopment, the residential units are restricted to senior citizens over age 62 with incomes no greater than 60percent of the county’s median income. “We have a tendency to isolate older people,” says Frank Gangi, president ofGangi Development. “They love downtown life. They love to see people and to connect with others.” Not only doMedia Village’s residents live in the midst of downtown, but also they are not isolated by their economic status, asthey enjoy a prime downtown location. Media Village’s 144 available units represent 14 percent of thebelow-market-rate housing in Burbank.

The BRA estimates that 110 permanent jobs have been created by the Media Village development, which has contributed significantly to the sort of nighttime activity that downtowns need.

FINANCING

By statute, the parcel was valued by an independent appraiser; in this case, it was appraised at $1.4 million. Gangi paid $2 million; the $600,000 premium bought Gangi some financing concessions from the BRA that allowed the developer to start the project with a downpayment of $1 million and a subordinated second trust deed of $1 million at 7 percent simple interest for two years. When retail leasing was completed, Gangi obtained a permanent loan, which paid off the BRA.

Development costs were financed through a combination of low-income housing tax credits ($4.5 million) andBRA-issued tax-exempt housing bonds ($5 million). A local commercial bank’s letter of credit collateralized the bondissue, absolving the BRA of any liability. The BRA also paid $4.5 million in capital, and promised to pay pro rataoperating expenses, for the additional 300 spaces of the public garage that the city requested that Gangi add, inexcess of the 186 spaces required by zoning requirements. Gangi is liable for operating losses, though so far therehave been none.

The housing component has been fully leased since leasing began in April 1999 before the units were available, with 300 qualified tenants on the current waiting list. It grosses $75,000 per month, and expenses have been lower than the pro forma because of the low turnover of the units, and the lack of need for advertising.

The retail component was 80 percent leased at opening—due to soft conditions in the Burbank retail sector, but stilloutperforming the market—but is now fully occupied. Picanha, the Brazilian steakhouse, has been so successful that it

is paying percentage rent. Together, the office and retail components gross $100,000 per month in lease income.

EXPERIENCE GAINED

Although Media Village could only have been developed for affordable seniors’ housing as its primary use—becausethe city placed it as a condition for development rights—the project’s success suggests that as market-rate housing, itwould have garnered rents at least three times the amount Gangi is limited to collecting. Mark Gangi, vice presidentfor architecture, observes that not only can developers not indulge themselves in “what-ifs”—particularly in this case,in which affordable seniors’ housing was a fait accompli—but also developers should be pleased to have virtually zerovacancy at any time, with over a 200 percent waiting list.

At the time the entire project was completed in January 2000, 80 percent of the commercial space was leased, equaling the absorption rate of the neighborhood. Since then, the entire project has been 100 percent leased, despite a laggard vacancy rate in Burbank Village. The developer sought tenants that would serve the neighborhood, rather than tourists and out-of-region consumers. It proved to be the right mix for Burbank Village, which by itself is not the destination that Third Street Promenade and Old Pasadena are. The success of Media Village hinged on the developer's creating tenants where necessary, and attracting those that would enhance the village concept.

The experience that Gangi gained from Media Village has given the development firm the confidence and credibility topursue a new product type: institutional development. As museums have become public centers, providing newservices such as gift shops, food courts, and hands-on learning centers—in addition to traditional institutional usessuch as curation, laboratories, and galleries—they have come to resemble mixed-use centers. The similarities haveenabled Gangi to develop a 60,000-square-foot (5,574-square-meter), $66 million Water Museum in Hemet,California, for the Metropolitan Water District, the water authority for the Los Angeles metropolitan region. (Michael B.Lehrer, a professor of architecture at the University of Southern California, is joint venturing the architectural designwith Gangi.) The Media Village experience also reinforced the suitability of Gangi’s business model to developmentproducts of all sorts: its vertical integration gives the company a competitive advantage as a low-cost producer ofhousing and commercial projects.

PROJECT DATA

LAND USE INFORMATION

Site area (acres/hectares): 2.54/1.03Gross building area (square feet/square meters): 405,228/37,646Public parking spaces: 486Residential parking spaces: 100Floor/area ratio: 3.7

LAND USE PLAN

Use Acres/Hectares Percentage of Site

Building 1.91/0.77 75

Landscaping/open space (not including landscaped roof areas)

0.63/0.26 25

Total 2.54/1.03 100

OFFICE INFORMATION

Net leasable area (square feet/square meters): 14,555/1,352Percentage of net leasable area occupied: 100Number of tenants: 5Average tenant area (square feet/square meters): 2,911/270Average annual rent (per square foot/per square meter): $24.75/$266.25Average length of lease: 5 to 8 yearsTypical term of lease: Modified gross

RETAIL INFORMATION

Gross leasable area (square feet/square meters): 40,656/3,777Percentage of leasable area occupied: 100 Number of tenants: 9 Average annual rents (per square foot/per square meter): $20.66/$222.40Average length of lease: 5 to 10 yearsTypical term of lease: Triple net

Tenant Classification Number of Stores (Square Feet/Square Meters)

Food service 4 12,193/1,133

Home furniture 1 1,168/109

Home appliances/electronics 1 2,475/230

Personal services 1 2,176/202

Recreation/community 1 6,744/627

Other 1 15,900/1,477

Total 9 40,656/3,777

RESIDENTIAL INFORMATION

Net leasable area (square feet/square meters): 81,594/7,580

Unit Type

Average Area (Square Feet/SquareMeters) Number Leased

One bedroom 483/45 118

Two bedroom 914/85 19

Two bedroom (tower) 738/69 6

Two bedroom (senior tower) 1,178/109 2

One bedroom (janitor) 225/21 2

Total 147

DEVELOPMENT COST INFORMATION

Acquisition Cost: $2,000,000

Site Improvement Costs: $1,277,100Excavation: 400,000Grading: 80,000Sewer/water/drainage: 22,000Paving: 25,000Curbs/sidewalks: 450,000Landscaping/irrigation: 94,100

Construction Costs: $10,300,568Superstructure: 6,584,126HVAC: 344,577

Electrical: 898,051Plumbing/sprinklers: 850,568Elevators: 165,000Fees/general conditions: 800,000Finishes: 584,000Graphics/specialties: 16,790Miscellaneous: 57,456

FF&E: $437,000

Soft Costs: $3,436,195Architecture/engineering: 618,000Project management: 300,000Leasing/marketing: 600,000Legal/accounting: 75,000Taxes/insurance: 191,366Title fees: 15,000Construction interest and fees: 1,346,826Miscellaneous: 290,000

Total Development Cost: $15,450,295

DEVELOPMENT SCHEDULE

Planning started: January 1996Site purchased: January 1997*Construction started: March 1997Sales/leasing started: April 1999Project completed: January 2000

*Burbank BRA does not transfer ownership until all entitlements are in place.

DIRECTIONS

From Los Angeles International Airport: Media Village is generally in a northeast direction, 29 miles away by car. Bear right at airport exit onto South Sepulveda Boulevard (California Highway 1). At Imperial Highway (Route 105), go east. At Route 110, go north toward Los Angeles. At Golden State Freeway (Interstate 5), go north toward Sacramento. Exit atOlive Avenue, and merge with East Angeleno Avenue. At South First Street, take a left. At East Magnolia Boulevard, turn right. Media Village is on the right-hand side, at 260 East Magnolia Boulevard, between Second and Third streets.

Driving Time: 45 minutes in nonpeak traffic.

From Burbank Airport: Media Village is generally in a southeast direction, 4.5 miles away by car. At airport exit, turn left onto West Empire Avenue. At North Victory Place, turn right. Bear right onto North Victory Boulevard. At West Magnolia Boulevard, turn left. As it crosses over Golden State Freeway, Magnolia becomes East Magnolia Boulevard. Media Village is on the right-hand side, at 260 East Magnolia Boulevard, between Second and Third streets.

Driving Time: Ten minutes in nonpeak traffic.

David Takesuye, report authorDavid Takesuye, editor, Development Case StudiesDavid James Rose, copy editorJoanne Nanez, online production manager

This Development Case Study is intended as a resource for subscribers in improving the quality of future projects. Data contained herein were made available by the project's development team and constitute a report on, not an endorsement of, the project by ULI-the Urban Land Institute.

Copyright © 2002 by ULI-the Urban Land Institute1025 Thomas Jefferson Street, N.W., Suite 500 West, Washington D.C. 20007-5201

Media Village faces Magnolia Boulevard and Media Center Mall, above which this aerial shot was taken. Magnolia Boulevard slopes from Third (at left) to Second (beyond right) streets. A pedestrian paseo separates Media Village from the low-rise retail properties facing San Fernando Road. Two 60-foot towers frame the upper-level, open-air courtyard

that opens to Magnolia Boulevard.

Along palm Avenue, sloping down from Third Street, is a colonnade set back from the sidewalk, sheltering storefronts and pedestrians from the southern sun. The level above the colonnade contains office space at the perimeter, and

residential parking at the core. Above that level are three levels of residential units, with open-air balconies facing the street. Shown here is the end elevation facing the pedestrian paseo, with open fire-exit stairs forming a sculptural

element within the stucco-faced exterior walls of the building volume.

Along Third Street, the residential levels rise from grade level, allowing for easy access to the seniors' housing units via amotor court and a public bus stop. Visible in this aerial view is the open-air residential terrace opening to Magnolia

Boulevard at right.

Below the residential terrace shown is a level of residential parking. Above-grade planters contain landscaping, some of which are available to residents to cultivate. Flanking the terrace opening to Magnolia Boulevard are two towers, which include retail space at grade and residential units above. The open-air circulation spines surrounding the terrace reflect

the southern California lifestyle that the mild weather promotes.

Media Village is credited with adding another dimension to the nightlife activities available in revitalized downtown Burbank. The yellow awnings of the nightclub Gitana mark a lively outdoor space that is equally busy by day and at

night.

Site plan. The site is bounded by Magnolia Boulevard (at top) and (moving clockwise) by Third Street, palm Avenue, and the pedestrian paseo paralleling Second Street. Across Magnolia Boulevard from Media Village is Media Center Mall,

downtown Burbank's major retail mall.