Railroad Ends Talks Over Sale of Train Station to Burbank

The Southern Pacific railroad has cut off negotiations to sell the city of Burbank an unused train station that city officials wanted for a planned transportation center.

Officials of the Southern Pacific Transportation Co. said the talks with the city had bogged down and were too difficult to continue. The city and Southern Pacific had been talking since February about the site at 201 N. Front St. in downtown Burbank.

“The Burbank City Council members were very enthusiastic,” said Doug Wubbena, sales manager of the real estate department of Southern Pacific. “It was just a case where those who were negotiating on behalf of the city made it too difficult.”

Wubbena added that the company was moving forward with its own plans to develop the station.

The land could be used for a public storage facility, shops or “possible continued railroad use,” he said.

Despite the withdrawn offer, Burbank City Planner Rick Pruetz said the city was moving forward with plans to purchase the site, and would like to continue talking with Southern Pacific.

If the impasse continues, he said, the city might try to force the sale by using its power of eminent domain.

“That is certainly one option,” Pruetz said.

He said the location would serve as an ideal site for a hub for mass transit services such as buses, trains and a proposed monorail. “It would be a great place for use to take people from commuter rail to bus service that could serve Burbank and the east San Fernando Valley,” he said.

The talks have stalled in part because the city wants to conduct studies to determine if the site’s soil is contaminated with toxic chemicals, Pruetz said.

“It’s a long-standing policy that we find out what the toxic situation is,” he said.

Wubbena countered by saying, “We’ve already spent a lot of money with various environmental consultants. The site is clean. Per regulatory standards, it is not contaminated.”

There is also disagreement over the price. Pruetz said the property is worth about $3 million. But Wubbena said it is worth much more.

“We would have liked to have had a direct dialogue with the City Council,” Wubbena said.

When asked if negotiations could be resumed, he said, “Currently our position is that we want to move forward with our proposed development of the site.”