Westfield Topanga

Westfield Topanga

Location	Warner Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
Coordinates	34.19047°N 118.603163°W / 34.19047; -118.603163
Address	6600 Topanga Canyon Boulevard, Canoga Park, CA 91303
Opening date	February 10, 1964
Developer	May Centers, Inc.
Management	Westfield Group
Owner	Westfield Group
No. of stores and services	279
No. of anchor tenants	5
Total retail floor area	1,637,088 sq ft (152,090.5 m2).
No. of floors	2
Parking	6,113
Website	Official Website

Westfield Topanga, originally known as Topanga Plaza, is a two-story shopping mall consisting of 279 tenants spread across three sections. It is located on Topanga Canyon Boulevard in Canoga Park in the western part of Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley. The mall, owned by The Westfield Group, is anchored by Macy's, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Target, and Sears. Stores include the Apple Store, Cartier, H+M, Louis Vuitton, and Tourneau.

A US$330 million renovation to the mall was completed in 2008, which included the addition of over 100 new stores including new anchors Target and Neiman Marcus, a substantial renovation to the existing anchor stores, a new food court, a two-story carousel, and three parking garages.

History

West parking lot of Topanga Plaza in 1978.

Opened February 10, 1964, Topanga Plaza was California's first enclosed shopping mall. When initially opened it was a two-level more or less linear structure that also featured two levels of parking on the east and west sides. The primary entrance was on the center of the west side of the mall. A noteworthy feature was the "Rain Fountain" on the south end. It consisted of several circular arrays of vertical monofilament line stretching from the ceiling to a raised landscaped area on the floor. The effect of rain was created by droplets of recirculated glycerine slowly descending along the wetted lines. The mall was originally anchored by The Broadway, May Company and Montgomery Ward. Nordstrom was added in 1983. It also had an indoor ice skating rink, however, due to a series of technical problems with the ice, as well as serious injuries, the rink was demolished by the late 1970s. That area was replaced by an informal food court until it was moved when the new additions were completed.

In 1992 May Centers, Inc., the original developer, was renamed CenterMark Properties and was sold by parent company May Department Stores in 1993 to a consortium led by Westfield Holdings, Ltd., a predecessor of Westfield Group.

The May Company location was renamed Robinsons-May in 1993 and completely renovated following the 1994 Northridge earthquake. The Broadway location was sold to Sears in 1996 after its acquisition by Federated Department Stores, and the Montgomery Ward closed in 1999 following the chain's bankruptcy. As previously mentioned, Robinsons-May was renamed Macy's in September 2006, and despite rumors to the contrary, the store continued operating despite the close proximity of a second Macy's store at the Westfield Promenade up the street. In early 2015, Sears announced they would shutter their Topanga branch later in the year.

Expansion

In the early 2000s, Westfield began work on a potential expansion of the successful Topanga property. In 2003, Westfield unveiled plans for a $330 million expansion of the property calling for the addition of more than 100 new specialty stores, three new parking structures, a new dining terrace, and several new anchor stores including a relocated Nordstrom. Target and Neiman Marcus announced locations at the mall soon after.

The Village at Westfield Topanga

In July 2007 Westfield revealed partial plans to link Westfield Topanga with their other local indoor mall, the Westfield Promenade, which is a few blocks away. In addition to the two major malls, Westfield owns a small, outdoor shopping center located almost exactly between the other two and on the same major boulevard as the others; the company's plans involve renovating the outdoor mall to refresh it and to make it a hub for people traveling between all three shopping locations. In 2012, Westfield unveiled their proposal for The Village at Westfield Topanga, an outdoor shopping center anchored by a Costco Wholesale warehouse and an REI sporting good store. Even then, lawsuits delayed the project's planned opening into 2015, when preliminary construction finally commenced.

When the project is completed, the three mall behemoth will be the largest in California with a total of 3,800,000 square feet (350,000 m²).

Anchors

• Macy's (Formerly May Company and later Robinsons-May, 251,887 sq ft.)
• Neiman Marcus (120,000 sq ft.)
• Sears (160,271 sq ft.)
• Target (160,000 sq ft.)
• Nordstrom (225,000 sq ft.)

See also

• Westfield Group

External links

• Westfield Topanga Official Site