LaTerra Bulldozes Iconic Site of Crashed UFO in Burbank

An iconic site of a crashed UFO in Burbank is being replaced by nearly 900 homes.

LaTerra Development has bulldozed the former Fry’s Electronics building at 2311 Hollywood Way, whose alien spaceship lodged over its front door will be replaced by 862 apartments, Urbanize Los Angeles and NBC4 Los Angeles reported.

The Marina del Rey-based developer just demolished the building south of Hollywood Burbank Airport to clear the way for Burbank Aero Crossings, approved by the City of Burbank in 2021 when the Fry’s chain went out of business.

The Fry’s at Hollywood Way and Vanowen, which opened in 1995, was known for the giant flying saucer as well as alien creatures hovering inside the big-box store.

Plans for the 8-acre site call for two seven-story buildings with 862 apartments above 9,700 square feet of ground-floor shops and restaurants around a central parking garage for 1,600 cars, with two rooftop swimming pool decks.

The gray, charcoal and brown complex, designed by Los Angeles-based TCA Architects, will have exterior balconies and broad eaves, looking out onto a landscaped courtyard, according to renderings.

The project was approved for 152,000 square feet of offices. It’s not clear how many affordable apartments, if any, will be included in the project.

A cost and timeline for the development, once slated to break ground in 2023, were not disclosed.

Aero Crossings is the second large development for LaTerra in Burbank, behind a 573-unit project once slated to break ground last year at 777 North Front Street, by the Downtown Burbank Metrolink Station near the airport.

LaTerra bought the land for the complex in 2021 for $40 million as part of its $250 million plan to build multifamily projects across Los Angeles. It then took out a $198.5 million construction loan from BMO Harris Bank and Citizens.

Plans there call for 573 apartments and a 307-room hotel, with 1,100 square feet of shops and a 28,000-square-foot park. It’s not clear when the project will move forward.

The Fry’s chain, which went out of business in 2021, left behind prime real estate at several locations in Southern California. A former Fry’s at 6100 Canoga Avenue in Woodland Hills is targeted for a 1.1-million-square-foot hotel and apartment complex, according to Urbanize.

— Dana Bartholomew