Mind the Gap

Topanga Plaza, the first enclosed and climate-controlled shopping mall in greater Los Angeles, opened along the western fringe of the suburban San Fernando Valley in 1964. The mall, while innovative in its design, was oriented towards a conservative middle-class clientle and included traditional middle-market anchors May Company, Montgomery Ward, and The Broadway. The mall's trade area subsequently increased in population and became more affluent, supporting the development of a second mall, The Promendae at Woodland Hills, in 1973. The Promenade catered to the fashion-forward customer with exclusive anchors Bullock's Wilshire, Robinson's, and Saks Fifth Avenue.

As the year 2000 approached, both malls were acquired by the Australia-based Westfield Group, a multi-national mall management and development company that also owned several other major malls in the Los Angeles region. Due to exansion, consolidation and reorganization among retail chains, The Promenade was anchored by two branches of Macy's and an AMC multiplex theatre, while Topanga Plaza was anchored by Montgomery Ward, Nordstrom, Robinsons-May, and Sears. Many upscale retailers began to locate at the larger Topanga Plaza as The Promenade found it increasingly difficult to attract new tenants.

In the last few years, Westfield has focused its energies on the former Topanga Plaza (now known as Westfield Topanga) with an ambitious program to nearly double the mall's size. In the last 2 years, the now-closed Montgomery Ward store was demolished and a massive expansion opened that included new Nordstrom and Target locations, many exclusive retailers and restaurants, and a new carousel and food court. Neiman Marcus is set to open a new store at Nordstrom's former location in 2008. The former Promenade at Woodland Hills (now known as Westfield Promenade) is far from a "dead mall" but its mix of entertainment, dining, and unique shopping seems remote from its successful sister mall up the road. The only way to travel the gap between the two is by automobile or by walking through two parking lots linked by a narrow and uninviting sidewalk.

The gap between the two malls is largely barren but is owned by the Westfield Group, which could realize great profit by developing that area. After hinting at plans to somehow connect the seperate centers, the Los Angeles Daily News reported today that Westfield has been conducting telephone surveys to learn what neighborhood residents would like to see at the site. Among the possibilities are a major hotel, a park and performance venue, and a conglomeration of high-end restaurants. Unfortunately, Gordon Murley of the South Valley Planning Commission is quoted as saying he would like the project to be "like The Grove" or "the La Cienega of the Valley" rather than a unique place that is tailored to the desires of the residents of the western San Fernando Valley the might draw people from "over the hill."

Any plan to fill the gap, like any other development program in Los Angeles, would have to address traffic concerns. However, as the Daily News notes, "about 3,000 condos and rental apartments have been approved" in the Warner Center area, providing a largely affluent "built-in" market that can reach these malls by foot. In addition, the western terminus of the Orange Line, a hugely successful bus rapid transit line, is in Warner Center adjacent to Westfield Promenade. While neighbors draw comparisons to Century City, another urban core built on a former studio lot, Warner Center is much less intense. Constant gridlock is not likely to ensue from development of the bypassed land between the two major malls, especially if a trolley, "people mover," or rapid bus system is created to shuttle shoppers throughout the area.

Development of the gap between Westfield Topanga and Westfield Promenade presents an amazing opportunity to the residents of the western San Fernando Valley. The malls of the Warner Center area should combine to provide a mixed-use, pedestrian friendly, and transit-oriented "downtown" that is compatible with its surroundings and serves the immediate area and visitors with minimal negative impact to the neighborhood. The Westfield Group has already shown itself to be a thoughtful developer, so I hope it will mind the gap in a constructive manner.