Burbank is trying to pull off a sequel: turning a nine-to-five studio town into a downtown that actually stays awake after dark. City officials are wagering that more restaurants, housing, and experience-driven nightlife can convince workers and visitors to stick around after the credits roll, blending placemaking with real estate deals to turn entertainment jobs into evening and weekend spending.
On paper, the numbers already look strong. Downtown bills itself as a walkable district with more than 600 shops and restaurants and about 4.1 million visitors a year, according to the Downtown Burbank Partnership. City economic development materials put the daytime population near 250,000 and the average household income around $151,000, figures used to court new tenants and events, per Burbank Economic Development.
Studios Still Anchor The Local Economy
The production muscle that made Burbank famous is still central to the pitch. Warner Bros.' Ranch redevelopment, a multi-block project that adds 16 soundstages and production support space, has further concentrated studio capacity in and around the city, according to Urbanize LA. The local chamber notes that more than 1,000 media and entertainment companies operate within Burbank, creating a steady pool of workers and visitors, per the Burbank Chamber.
Food, Housing, and Hotels Are Part Of The Plan
To capture more of that crowd after hours, city leaders and the downtown property improvement district point to a wave of openings. Roughly 28 new restaurants have debuted in the past four years, with at least seven more expected in 2026, part of a deliberate activation strategy, according to CoStar News. The same reporting notes that downtown has added about 800 housing units recently, with roughly 1,000 more approved, under construction or newly opened, and several hotels in the pipeline.
Immersive Tenants Join The Mix
City boosters are especially excited about tenants that blur the line between dinner and destination. One headliner is Scum & Villainy’s “Rendezvous,” an immersive sci-fi restaurant and bar the city lists at 346 N. First St. in the Burbank Entertainment Village. City business registration records show that address, and recent coverage names filmmaker Kevin Smith among the investors backing the expansion; see the City of Burbank and related reporting from the National Law Review for details.
Office Slump Raises Questions
All this activation is unfolding while the commercial office market hits a rough patch. Office vacancy in Burbank has climbed above 21 percent, a trend CoStar links to post-strike consolidations and broader shifts in how entertainment companies use space. CoStar News also reports that soundstage occupancy across greater Los Angeles remains below boom-year peaks even as new stages open, pushing landlords to lean harder on retail, hotel and residential projects.
Students And Daytime Uses Could Help
City officials argue the downtown story is not just about studios and tourists. They point to non-studio wins like Concorde Career Colleges, which has signed a lease for more than 48,000 square feet at 115 N. First St. and plans to relocate its Los Angeles County campus to downtown Burbank in spring 2027, according to the Los Angeles Times. The paper reports that the new campus should bring hundreds of students and staff into the downtown economy.
For now, Burbank is betting that immersive dining, fresh housing, new hotels and student-driven daytime uses can knit together a more resilient downtown. The gamble is that office demand eventually stabilizes, but officials say the combination of production jobs and new consumer-facing venues gives the city a legitimate shot at turning its studio backlot into a full-time downtown scene.
