Commercial Real Estate, Municipal Finance & Environmental Risk · Investigative Audit

Inside Avion Burbank: The Architects, Contractors, Private Capital & Risk Underwriters Powering a $375M Master Campus

Spanning 60 acres along North Hollywood Way adjacent to Hollywood Burbank Airport, Avion Burbank represents the largest mixed-use commercial development built in Burbank in over two decades. This forensic investigation audits the corporate ownership structure between Overton Moore Properties and institutional equity giant Invesco Real Estate, the dual-architect design strategy of Gensler and HPA Architecture, general contractor Millie and Severson, the $53.5 million mortgage payoff on Choice Hotels' Cambria property, environmental liability shields on the former Lockheed Plant B-6 Superfund site, and the commercial condominium financing model reshaping Burbank’s employment corridor.

Data as of Nov 2, 2026 from City of Burbank Ordinance No. 19-3,916 (Planned Development 16-0004646) , Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority Land Disclosures , SEC Form 10-Q Disclosures: Choice Hotels International / CH Avion Burbank LLC , California DTSC EnviroStor Database (Former Lockheed Plant B-6) and Overton Moore Properties & Invesco Real Estate Development Filings . Recomputed from official source records; see methodology.

1. From Secret Aerospace Plant to 1.25M Sq. Ft. Commercial Engine

At the intersection of North Hollywood Way and San Fernando Boulevard sits a 60-acre triangle of land that for more than half a century served as one of the most secretive military aerospace facilities in the United States. Known in defense history as Lockheed Plant B-6, the site was part of the storied Lockheed "Skunk Works" industrial complex, where thousands of Burbank machinists and aeronautical engineers built U-2 and SR-71 Blackbird spy planes, Hudson bombers, and Cold War defense systems.

When Lockheed Martin Corporation wound down heavy industrial production in Burbank during the 1990s, the land was transferred to the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority as the "B-6 Trust Property" intended for future aviation or terminal buffer use. However, voter-approved Measure B constraints and airport master planning ultimately led the Airport Authority to declare the property surplus and market it for private economic development.

In 2015–2016, Southern California master developer Overton Moore Properties (OMP), in partnership with institutional asset manager Invesco Real Estate, won the competitive bidding process to acquire the 60.3-acre parcel for $72.5 Million. Over the ensuing seven years, the joint venture—operating through project entity Burbank Industrial Investors, LP—entitled, engineered, and constructed Avion Burbank: a 1.25 million-square-foot infill campus comprising:

• 6 Creative Industrial Buildings (~418,000 sq. ft.): High-cube logistics, advanced manufacturing, and studio support facilities featuring 30' to 32' clear heights, ESFR fire sprinklers, and heavy dock loading.
• 9 Creative Office Buildings (~142,000 sq. ft.): Two-story open-floorplate office environments featuring private outdoor balconies, roll-up glass garage doors, 10' to 12' floor-to-ceiling glass lines, and dedicated ground-floor entrances.
• 2 Retail & Amenity Buildings (~15,000 sq. ft.): Onsite dining and retail services fronting Hollywood Way and San Fernando Blvd (including Randy’s Donuts and Jersey Mike’s).
• 150-Room Hotel: The Cambria Hotel Burbank Airport (3501 N. San Fernando Blvd), developed on a dedicated pad by Choice Hotels International.

2. The Corporate Control Roster: Owners, Architects, Builders & Lenders

In accordance with our investigative governance standards, this table audits the beneficial owners, executive leaders, principal architects, general contractors, insurance underwriters, and institutional anchor tenants who financed, built, and operate Avion Burbank:

3. Architectural Design, Master Planning & Engineering Consortium

The physical execution of Avion Burbank required a deliberate bifurcation in design responsibility: separating high-identity creative workplace architecture from the structural engineering demands of heavy goods distribution.

Gensler: The Creative Office & Retail Framework

Global architectural firm Gensler was selected to design the master campus plan, the pedestrian circulation network, the two retail pavilions, and the nine creative office buildings totaling 142,000 square feet. Gensler’s design moved aggressively away from the traditional sealed-glass corporate towers prevalent in the nearby Downtown Burbank and Tri-Cities commercial markets.

• Indoor/Outdoor Porosity: Each two-story office structure incorporates oversized, motorized roll-up glass garage doors that open directly onto private ground-level landscaped courtyards or second-floor executive balconies.
• Independent Identity: Rather than housing multiple tenants along shared elevator corridors, each building features dedicated exterior private entries, independent HVAC and electrical metering, and direct ground-level parking access—a structural configuration that proved exceptionally resilient during post-pandemic workplace transitions.
• Active Pedestrian Spine: Gensler mapped the campus around a central pedestrian promenade lined with drought-tolerant native landscaping, outdoor collaboration pods equipped with high-speed power/data connections, and bicycle stations.

HPA Architecture: High-Cube Logistics & Industrial Engineering

For the six industrial warehouse buildings totaling 418,000 square feet, the joint venture hired Irvine-based HPA Architecture, one of California’s preeminent industrial master architects. HPA engineered the buildings to solve a critical shortage of modern Class-A infill distribution space in the San Fernando Valley:

• Interior Clearance: 30-foot to 32-foot minimum interior clear heights, allowing automated high-bay racking systems and vertical palletized storage.
• Heavy Logistics Capacity: Up to 135-foot secured truck courts, grade-level drive-in doors, dock-high loading positions with hydraulic levelers, and 480V 3-phase heavy industrial power infrastructure.
• Fire Safety & Infill Standards: Early Suppression Fast Response (ESFR) ceiling fire sprinkler arrays, eliminating the requirement for in-rack sprinkler systems.

The Supporting Engineering & Sustainability Team

Executing an 18-building infill campus across 60 acres required an extensive consortium of specialized engineering consultants:

• General Contractor: Millie and Severson General Contractors coordinated simultaneous site grading, concrete tilt-up casting, steel framework erection, utility infrastructure installation, and public roadway dedications.
• Structural Engineers: HSA & Associates engineered the industrial tilt-up shear walls and roof diaphragm systems, while Structural Focus provided structural engineering for the creative office complexes.
• Civil Engineering: Thienes Engineering handled master grading, site hydrology, and the design of subterranean Low Impact Development (LID) stormwater capture and infiltration basins.
• MEP Engineering: RPM Engineers designed the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing infrastructure.
• Geotechnical Soils: Cornerstone Earth Group performed comprehensive soil vapor testing, subsurface compaction, and structural foundation analysis.
• Sustainability & LEED: Gaia Development directed environmental sustainability, achieving LEED Silver Core and Shell certifications across the office and industrial buildings.

4. Capital Structure, Financing, Mortgage Loans & The Office Condo Model

The financial capitalization of Avion Burbank involved a sophisticated blend of institutional equity, debt refinancing, pad disposition, and a novel condominium exit strategy.

The Office Condominium De-Risking Strategy: Tentative Parcel Map No. 74417

While commercial developers in Los Angeles historically built speculative office parks for single institutional landlords to lease on 5-to-10-year terms, Overton Moore Properties and Invesco executed a calculated risk-mitigation maneuver: they entitled the creative office portion under Tentative Parcel Map No. 74417 as a commercial office condominium subdivision.

Under this structure, each of the nine two-story office buildings (ranging from 10,000 to 25,000 square feet) was legally subdivided into individual, deeded office condominiums that could be sold outright to corporate owner-users, family offices, or private investors.

This strategy allowed the developers to capture aggressive equity premiums from business owners seeking to own their real estate under favorable SBA 504 loan programs (requiring as little as 10% equity down), while insulating the joint venture from post-2020 macroeconomic declines in traditional office leasing values.

5. Insurance Architecture, Environmental Indemnity & Superfund Risk

Constructing and financing a $375 million commercial campus on top of an historic Cold War defense manufacturing site introduced extraordinary environmental and underwriting complexities.

The Lockheed Plant B-6 Superfund Legacy

For decades, Lockheed’s aircraft manufacturing operations on the B-6 site involved heavy degreasing, solvent cleaning, metal plating, and chemical storage. Over time, industrial solvents—primarily tetrachloroethylene (PCE) and trichloroethylene (TCE)—alongside hexavalent chromium and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), migrated into the subsurface soil and underlying groundwater.

The site falls squarely within the San Fernando Valley Groundwater Basin Superfund Site (Area 1 / Burbank Operable Unit), designated under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) under the regulatory oversight of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), and the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board (LARWQCB).

Environmental Insurance & Liability Shielding

To allow private development to proceed and enable institutional debt and equity to invest without assuming multi-decade toxic tort liabilities, the developers and lenders established a multi-layered environmental risk architecture:

• Lockheed Martin Remediation Oversight: Lockheed Martin Corporation remains the statutory "Responsible Party" legally liable under federal consent decrees for continuous groundwater extraction, treatment, and soil vapor remediation across the San Fernando Valley basin.
• Prospective Purchaser Agreements (PPA) & Covenants: Burbank Industrial Investors, LP and subsequent parcel/condominium buyers acquired the property under protective DTSC agreements that restrict groundwater extraction and mandate vapor intrusion mitigation, while providing statutory covenants not to sue for historical contamination.
• Environmental Site Liability (ESL) / Pollution Legal Liability (PLL) Insurance: Master policies underwritten by global specialty carriers (such as AIG, Chubb, Zurich, or Great American) were structured to cover pre-existing unknown environmental conditions, off-site toxic migration claims, business interruption, and regulatory re-opener risks.
• Sub-Slab Vapor Intrusion Mitigation: During foundation construction, Millie and Severson installed specialized sub-slab vapor barrier membranes and passive sub-slab depressurization systems (SSDS) beneath building foundations to prevent volatile chemical vapors from entering interior workspaces, verified by continuous indoor air quality monitoring protocols.

Construction Wrap-Up & Municipal Surety

For physical construction, the development was protected under comprehensive Builder’s Risk and Commercial General Liability (CGL) wrap-up programs covering property in transit, crane collapse, seismic exposure, and subcontractor defect liabilities. Furthermore, to satisfy City of Burbank public right-of-way encroachment and subdivision permits, OMP posted multi-million dollar corporate surety performance and maintenance bonds guaranteeing the completion of public infrastructure dedications.

6. Property Management, Operations & Common Area Maintenance (CAM)

The ongoing operation of Avion Burbank is managed through a hybrid master association structure designed to balance the competing operational demands of heavy e-commerce logistics, high-end creative offices, customer-facing retail, and 24/7 hotel hospitality:

Master campus property management is directed by the Overton Moore Properties Management Division, which administers the campus Property Owners Association (POA), supervises private campus security, coordinates shared EV charging infrastructure, maintains stormwater filtration systems, and retains commercial landscaping contractors across the 60-acre footprint.

7. Municipal Entitlements, Public Dedications & The City Fiscal Yield

The transformation of the B-6 property required extensive municipal approvals from the Burbank City Council, codified under Ordinance No. 19-3,916 (adopted April 16, 2019) approving Planned Development Permit No. 16-0004646, Tentative Parcel Map No. 74417, and a binding 10-year Development Agreement:

Infrastructure Dedications & Public Benefits

• Extension of Public Streets: OMP constructed, improved, and dedicated to the City of Burbank the complete extensions of Tulare Avenue and North Kenwood Street, establishing vital east-west and north-south public vehicular circulation through the previously walled-off industrial quadrant.
• Protected Multimodal Transit: The developers installed raised, Class IV protected bicycle lanes along North Hollywood Way, upgraded traffic signals, installed pedestrian lighting, and constructed modern bus shelters servicing BurbankBus and Metro transit riders.
• Traffic Calming Contribution: The City Council mandated a dedicated $250,000 municipal payment from Overton Moore Properties to fund citywide traffic monitoring and neighborhood traffic calming measures.
• Stormwater Sustainability: The project engineered on-site retention and subterranean bio-filtration systems meeting Los Angeles County MS4 and City Low Impact Development (LID) standards, preventing urban runoff into the Burbank Western Channel.

Municipal Finance: From Tax-Exempt Buffer to Revenue Generator

For municipal budget analysts, Avion Burbank represents one of the most profitable property conversions in Burbank’s modern fiscal history:

• Property Tax (Ad Valorem) Reassessment: Under Airport Authority ownership, the 60.3-acre site was a municipal, tax-exempt government parcel generating $0 in property tax revenue for Burbank schools and municipal services. Following private acquisition, parcel subdivision, and $375 million in core-and-shell improvements, the property tax base reset to current market valuations, generating millions in annual property tax allocations under California Proposition 13.
• Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) Yield: The 150-room Cambria Hotel provides an ongoing, high-margin revenue stream directly to the City of Burbank General Fund via the city’s 12% Transient Occupancy Tax (Measure C), capturing traveler spending from Hollywood Burbank Airport passengers.
• Sales & Business Tax Receipts: The presence of high-throughput distribution hubs for Amazon and Home Depot, coupled with consumer spending at the retail village, generates continuous business license taxes, utility user taxes, and local Bradley-Burns sales taxes.

8. Conclusion: The Playbook for Infill Defense Conversions

Avion Burbank stands as a textbook case study in 21st-century infill development: how experienced private developers partner with Wall Street institutional equity to acquire complex, contaminated Cold War aerospace assets and convert them into high-yielding, multi-use economic engines.

By combining the architectural identity of Gensler, the logistics precision of HPA, the general contracting power of Millie and Severson, and an office condominium subdivision model that de-risked commercial equity, Overton Moore Properties and Invesco unlocked the latent value of North Hollywood Way. In doing so, they created an industrial and creative employment spine that will anchor Burbank’s tax rolls, transportation corridors, and media support economy for decades to come.

For related investigations into Burbank’s commercial land roll and media supply chain, read Lighting Hollywood’s Lens: Kino Flo, LiteGear & Studio Hardware, Inside Burbank’s $2.7B Studio Support Economy, Tucked Behind Public Storage: The Elks Lodge & Self-Storage Audit, and The Proposition 13 Commercial Land Audit.