The Golden Mall is a 20 year old six block (six acre) downtown of Burbank which until recently was an outdoor landscaped mall within the retail core of Burbank. This outdoor pedestrian mall was well maintained, but was simply not successful for the 80’s and 90’s. With declining activity and increasing vacancies, merchants faced relocations as their only solution. The concern of city officials initiated a program to revitalize the sixty acres “Golden Mall” retail core.
The mall design was an intricate part of a successful revitalization program. Traffic and parking, graphics, utilities, lighting, and landscaping will be improved in the public realm. Concurrently, design guidelines were being prepared to guide new construction and encourage improvements of existing stores. As one increment of a major renewal of downtown, five blocks will be reopened to traffic, with the sixth block remaining closed and known as “Magnolia Plaza”. This plaza will become Burbank’s major public retail space, staged for community events. The entire mall will share common elements or parts, such as newly detail and paved sidewalks, community plazas, trellis structures, street furniture and landscaping. Using these features, each block is being tailored to its own particular needs and opportunities.
