Westfield Topanga & The Village announced today that it will begin work this month on the transformation of a long-vacated 160,000-square-foot former Sears department store into a new dining and entertainment district.
Slated to be unveiled in late 2021, the enhancements will further establish Westfield Topanga as the perfect place for locals and visitors alike to shop, eat and play, while positioning the center at the vanguard of experience-driven retail destinations nationally.
“We could not be more excited to finally unlock the full potential of this space and refashion it into something completely fresh and far more relevant and engaging for the community and our customers,” said Larry Green, EVP Development at Westfield Topanga’s owner Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW). “For residents across the San Fernando Valley and wider L.A. region, the chance to enjoy world-class dining and social entertainment experiences without having to travel far from home will be a game-changer.”
Complementing Topanga’s exciting restaurant and retail collection, the new district will feature a chef-driven Food Hall showcasing some of the country’s top food concepts along with cutting-edge sit-down restaurants, sleek lounges and cocktail bars, unique interior and exterior boutiques, best-in-class entertainment and recreational activities, and landscaped indoor and outdoor public spaces and plazas.
The renovation will also create a grand entrance for Westfield Topanga, with a triple-height entryway integrating floating panes of glass and transparent lattices alongside verdant outdoor spaces, giving the entire center a street-facing focal point set back from the corner of Topanga Canyon Boulevard and Victory Boulevard. In addition, the new district will have improved connectivity with The Village located across Victory Boulevard, with better pedestrian access to welcome guests traveling by foot and trolley between both properties.
As a majority of the work on the project will occur within the confines of the existing space, the impact on Westfield Topanga’s guests and visitors during the year ahead will be minimal. Shops and restaurants will remain open for business throughout the process.
Westfield Topanga has continued its transformation earlier this year, recently completing an interior renovation that brought a modern new look to the property’s design and décor, including fresh new tile floors; refined, dark walnut paneling and finishes; a complete makeover of all restroom facilities and family lounges; and the integration of state-of-the-art digital infrastructure.
These upgrades followed the destination’s unveiling of its 15,000 panel solar array in 2018 – the largest at any shopping center or retail destination in California. The solar project is a part of URW’s sustainability initiative, Better Places 2030, in which the company has committed to cutting by 50% its carbon emissions globally by 2030. As a part of this program and its recent renovation, Topanga has also integrated interior and exterior LED lighting retrofits, skylight tinting, the installation of electric vehicle charging stations, the integration of new chilled water coils, as well as efficient lighting and chiller control systems.
The ongoing work to maintain Westfield Topanga’s position as a destination and economic engine in Los Angeles underscores a longstanding history of investment by URW in the surrounding Warner Center business district, including the various projects and improvements the company has made over the past decade at the shopping center and at The Village.
This commitment to the community also is demonstrated by its $1.5 billion vision for the adjacent 34-acre Promenade property, known as the Promenade 2035 plan, which aspires to transform the existing closed shopping center into a walkable, friendly downtown community with a combination of new residences, offices, entertainment, dining, hotel, and shopping options built in phases over time.
