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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Warner Center Developer Marks 40th Anniversary

Warner Center was the West Valley’s answer to downtown. And this month, Warner Center’s major developer, Voit Real Estate Services, is celebrating its 40th Anniversary. So it’s cheerleading a bit online about its accomplishments. Voit has launched a commemorative website, complete with a timeline of its developments. Readers can scroll through the website to see how the developer helped to shape the Valley and nearby locales. Once home to Warner Bros. co-founder Harry Warner’s sprawling horse ranch, Warner Center now stables major companies such as Health Net Inc., Anthem Blue Cross and Farmers Insurance, instead of mares. Warner Center is home to the western Orange Line terminus, numerous office buildings and a growing number of apartment complexes. Some of Voit’s other Valley developments include the Marvin Braude Constituent Service Center in Van Nuys and The Plant in Panorama City, a former General Motors facility that the company co-developed with the Selleck Development Group. CEO Robert Voit started his company in 1971. Eight years later, the firm completed construction on a 50-acre parcel, which included 750,000 square feet of mostly office buildings. That was only phase one of Warner Center Business Park. The low-rise business park was finished in 1987, hitting the 1.1 million-square-foot mark. In 1994, Voit wrapped up Warner Center Plaza, a 1.8 million square-foot high-rise complex. “As a developer, (Robert Voit) is a visionary. He is able to see opportunities for community development that others may not be able to see,” said CEO Brad Rosenheim of Rosenheim & Associates Inc., who has handled entitlements for Voit over the years. “It’s not just about creating a building, but how that building helps create the community.” Voit could not be reached for comment. And as Warner Center has changed, so has Voit. It’s no longer just a development company. In 1987, the firm launched an in-house brokerage firm based in Orange County. Voit, which no longer has a Valley office, is now headquartered in Newport Beach, and its Los Angeles office is located in Commerce. Voit created an asset services platform to handle distressed assets and more in 2009 and rebranded itself as Voit Real Estate Services. The move was to better integrate the firm’s asset and property management, construction segment and brokerage services. “Over the last 40 years, Voit Real Estate Services has maneuvered through multiple cycles, while retaining its entrepreneurial spirit, ” Voit said, in a statement. But a true downtown for the West Valley remains elusive. A new specific plan is underway, driving hopes and controversy. “We’re looking to create a commercial center that is a downtown of the Valley,” said August Steurer, co-chair of the Planning, Land Use & Mobility Committee of the Woodland Hills-Warner Center Neighborhood Council. “We are looking to bring in more jobs (that are) in balance with housing and recreational, so you can live, work and play within Warner Center.” Instead of relying on the Valley’s long-time love affair with the car, the new specific plan will focus on increasing transit and walkability. That may include a street car that would loop through the area. As the community plans for more development —including The Village at Westfield Topanga, which will include stores, restaurants and public areas — and attempts to transform the location into a true downtown, Voit’s development “was a very strong start” toward that goal, Rosenheim said. Building Under New Ownership Boston real estate investor AEW Capital Management has purchased a Class A 110,000 square-foot industrial building in Panorama City from Titan Pacific LLC for an undisclosed amount in an off-market transaction. The deal, which was recently announced, was completed in August. Senior vice presidents with NAI Capital Inc. Chris Jackson and Todd Lorber represented both the buyer and seller. Jackson said the Panorama City/Van Nuys industrial market is doing well, with vacancies hovering around 5 percent or under. That drops to about 3 percent for Class A properties, he said. “Most of the tenants want to be in this area because it’s close to all major freeways, which is a little different than the Western Valley” where vacancy is higher, Jackson said. AMS Fulfillment Signs New Leases AMS Fulfillment Inc. has leased two roughly 40,000 square feet industrial buildings in Valencia for additional product storage. The company signed two-year leases on the properties in October, said AMS President Jay Catlin, adding the deals total more than $1 million. Executive Vice President Doug Sonderegger of CBRE represented AMS in both deals and the landlord in one. Earlier this year, AMS moved its headquarters into a new, 120,000 square-foot Valencia warehouse. Staff Reporter Andrew Khouri can be reached at [email protected]. or at (818) 316-3124

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