The Malling of Warner Center

While few would consider Southern California to be "under-malled," the Australia-based Westfield Group, owner of many of the region's largest shopping centers, continues to pursue ambitious expansion plans. Last Tuesday, hours before the Santa Clarita City Planning Commission approved Westfield's proposal to enlarge Westfield Valencia Town Center, company officials announced preliminary plans for The Village in Warner Center.

As reported by the Los Angeles Daily News, The Village in Warner Center will be a mixed-use development with a hotel, offices, apartments, and condominiums along with 550,000 square feet of retail and restaurants. The project will link the adjacent Westfield Topanga and Westfield Promenade malls, creating a massive shopping and entertainment district that will be the undisputed hub of the western San Fernando Valley. At 3.8 million square feet in combined size, the three centers will rival Orange County's South Coast Plaza for regional prominence.

Unlike its neighbors Westfield Topanga and Westfield Promenade, The Village in Warner Center will not be a traditional enclosed mall with department store anchors. Instead, it will offer an outdoor environment organized around internal streets, a format commonly referred to as a "lifestyle center." The company has not decided on how it will connect the two indoor malls and the proposed outdoor village.

The massive project has the support of Los Angeles City Councilman Dennis Zine and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa but Westfield is in the early stages of the approval process and construction will not begin for at least 2 years. When public hearings begin, City officials and local residents will have an opportunity review and comment on the details of the proposal, including its design and its traffic impacts.

Previously on P.U.

Mind The Gap (6/27/2007)
Westfield Topanaga Expansion Opens October 6 (8/23/2006)