Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield has announced that its recently completed expansion at Westfield Topanga at Warner Center has been awarded LEED Platinum status by the U.S. Green Building Council.
“We put sustainability at the core of our business, with the goal of increasing our positive environmental, social, and economic impact in the local community and beyond through the delivery of world-class destinations,” Geoffrey Mason, executive vice president of operating management and development at Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, said in a statement. “As Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield’s first U.S. retail development to achieve LEED Platinum certification, the Westfield Topanga expansion is setting the standard for which we will strive with all our future projects.”
To achieve LEEDertification, the Westfield Topanga expansion implemented solutions in areas including sustainable site development, water-use reduction and optimized energy performance, including on-site renewable energy and the use of green power. Other sustainability initiatives at the center include the installation of a 15,000-panel solar array in 2018 – the largest at any shopping center or retail destination at the time in California.
Topanga also employs interior and exterior LED lighting, skylight tinting, electric vehicle charging stations and chilled water coils, as well as efficient lighting and chiller-control systems.
“Westfield Topanga’s LEED certification demonstrates tremendous green building leadership,” Peter Templeton, president and chief executive officer at U.S. Green Building Council, said in a statement. “LEED was created to make the world a better place and revolutionize our buildings and communities by providing everyone with access to healthy, green and high-performing buildings. The expansion at Westfield Topanga is a prime example of how the innovative work of project teams can create local solutions that contribute to making a global difference.”
The $250-million expansion at Westfield Topanga is a combined 180,000-square-feet of indoor and outdoor space renovation of a former department store space once occupied by Sears. The new district will include Topanga Social, a chef-driven food hall; an AMC Dine-In theatre; an expanded luxury fashion collection anchored by new Hermès, Dior, and Valentino boutiques; a nearly 21,000-square-foot Arhaus store; and Pinstripes, an experiential dining and entertainment concept.
Jean-Marie Tritant, chief executive officer of Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, appears to be following through on his 2021 comment that the Paris-based company planned to sell off its U.S. assets. Last year, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield sold Warner Center properties the Westfield Promenade and the Village to Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke for $150 million and $325 million, respectively. The company also sold Westfield Santa Anita last August for $537.5 million to businessman Wen Shan Chang.
The question remains whether the investment going into Westfield Topanga will culminate in a sale of the property. Mason said he was unaware of any plans to sell Westfield Topanga and that any such a decision would come from the leadership of the company.