Westfield Topanga
 West parking lot of Topanga Plaza in 1978. | |
| Location | Warner Center, Los Angeles, California, USA |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 34°11′26″N 118°36′11″W / 34.19047°N 118.603163°WCoordinates: 34°11′26″N 118°36′11″W / 34.19047°N 118.603163°W |
| 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 [1] |
| No. of anchor tenants | 5 |
| Total retail floor area | 1,637,088 sq ft (152,090.5 m2).[1] |
| Parking | 6,113[1] |
| No. of floors | 2 |
| Website | Official Website |
Westfield Topanga, formerly known as the Westfield Shoppingtown Topanga and more commonly known to locals as the Topanga Mall or 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.
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
Opened February 10, 1964, Topanga Plaza was California's first enclosed shopping mall.[2] 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.[3] 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.
2006-2008 Expansion
The Westfield Group recently completed the first phase of an expansion project, which added over 100 stores, including a large two-story Target, and three-story Nordstrom department store. A newly designed, cafe-style dining terrace, family lounges, and an indoor carousel were also added to the existing mall. The former Montgomery Ward, which had been largely out of use for years, was demolished as part of this project.
Nordstrom was moved to a new building at the southeast corner of the parking lot, which faces Victory Boulevard and Owensmouth Avenue. Neiman Marcus opened in fall 2008 at the site of the former Nordstrom building, on the mall's west end. Three new parking structures have been erected to supplant the ground level parking lost when the mall's outer walls were expanded to accommodate the new stores, the largest of these being the five-levels, complete with an electronic parking space indicator system.
This retail space was featured in the 1967 Dick van Dyke film Divorce American Style.
Future expansion
In July 2007 Westfield revealed partial plans to link Westfield Topanga with their other local indoor mall, the Westfield Promenade, which is less than two 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.
Many different retail/office space configurations are being considered, some of which could take construction costs as high as $750 million USD. How the three malls will be connected is still up for debate, although Westfield has semi-publicly considered a monorail system on more than one occasion, a novel but unlikely idea made nearly impossible by several logistical problems. Original plans called for the work to be finished by early 2010, but much of that work is being delayed while planning revisions and budget issues are being handled.
When the project is completed, the three mall complex 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(100,000 sq ft.)
- Nordstrom (225,000 sq ft.) [4]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Property Portfolio Westfield Topanga". Westfield. Westfield Group. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
- ↑ "Topanga Plaza". Mall Hall of Fame. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
- ↑ http://www.flickr.com/photos/hollywoodplace/5215360542/in/photostream/
- ↑ Hopkins, Brent (8 August 2002). "A Mega-Mall? Expanded Topanga Complex Could Link Up with Promenade". Los Angeles Daily News.
External links
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