Westfield Sets Plans for New Warner Center Project

Fresh from its hugely successful remake of the Topanga mall, Westfield Corp. Inc. is undertaking an even larger redevelopment in Warner Center. The company today said it is filing plans for a $700 million redevelopment of about 30 acres that sit between Westfield’s Topanga center to the North and its Promenade center to the South. Westfield has been assembling the parcels over a number of years. But the real impetus to the decision to begin the redevelopment is the success of the Topanga remake and, in particular, the retailers that signed onto that project. Nordstrom has already redeveloped one of its largest stores there and Neiman Marcus is set to open its only store in the city of Los Angeles next year. Westfield is proposing a mixed use project to include a luxury hotel, about 160 residential units, a 360,000-square foot office tower, about 438,500 square feet of retail space and 75,000 square feet of restaurant space. Dubbed The Village at Westfield Topanga, the center’s design plans call for a pedestrian-friendly series of street-like walkways connecting the various components in an outdoor environment with seating areas and landscaping. The company expects to plant more than 1,000 new trees and utilize green building technology in the effort. But Westfield also faces what is likely to be an arduous planning process. The property was previously entitled primarily for office use, and Westfield will have to garner approval to rezone the area for its plans, a process the company expects will take one to two years. The company hopes to break ground in 2010.