Burbank Ikea to be transformed into apartment complex

BURBANK, Calif. (KABC) -- Part of downtown Burbank is getting a multi-million dollar makeover, with a well-known retail landmark moving to a new location.

Crown Realty and Development is investing close to $400 million in a commercial transformation that will include the massive Ikea moving to a new Burbank site.

The store's current location will be converted into a 765-unit apartment complex with retail space.

Ikea is already planning to open a new location in Burbank in the 800 block of San Fernando Boulevard by next year. The new location will take up 456,000 square feet - almost twice the size of the current site, making it the Swedish furniture chain's largest store in the country.

The Burbank Town Center mall on Magnolia Boulevard will undergo a $60 million renovation.

"We're eager to get things going because what we do here is going to help spawn more activity for the mall, more pedestrian traffic with the retail synergy that will be created with having new residential right next to the mall," said Jim O'Neil with Crown Realty and Development.

But some residents are concerned that the project will hurt Burbank's small-town feel.

"These kinds of developments that are so massive and so huge and so generic take away that small-town feeling," said David Spell with the group Save Burbank Neighborhoods. "Let alone the issues with traffic and congestion."

The mall renovation is scheduled to begin in January and expected to take about 11 months to complete. The developer hopes to complete the Ikea project by 2020.