Westfield Kicks Off Topanga Redo

Westfield kicked off its Shoppingtown Topanga redevelopment today with a bang, literally. As a couple hundred invited guests, dignitaries and employees looked on, the company eschewed the traditional shovel to the ground in favor of a grand, Hollywood-style explosion to mark the start of the project. The $300-million redevelopment of the Topanga mall is the largest project Westfield is undertaking in the country this year and will create one of the five largest shopping centers in the United States. The completed mall will include the only Neiman Marcus store in the San Fernando Valley, a free-standing, 160,000-square-foot Target unit, an expanded three-story, free-standing Nordstrom totaling about 204,000 square feet and 100 additional specialty stores, which will be housed in a new structure to be built on the Owensmouth Avenue side of the center. Each of the anchors, including the existing Robinsons-May and Sears stores will front the major arteries bordering the mall, Topanga Canyon and Victory boulevards. A glass-enclosed atrium will form a pedestrian walkway that runs through the center of the mall from Topanga Canyon to Owensmouth. “The Canyon” will be lined with shops and restaurants and it will house gathering areas with seating and other amenities. There will also be three new covered parking structures. Peter Lowy, CEO of Westfield noted in his remarks that investments by the new retailers along with the company will bring the total price tag for the mall to $500 million. Lowy received some of the biggest applause of the morning event when he announced that, after hearing the El Camino Real High School Camerata perform, he would double the company’s donation to the choir, bringing Westfield’s donation to $10,000.