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Monday, Mar 18, 2024

Village at Westfield to Bridge Area Retail Centers

After five years of planning, the wait for the $450 million Village at Westfield Topanga appears to be over as developers prepare to break ground on the highly-anticipated project. Final plans for the 30-acre, multi-use project were approved by the Los Angeles City Council Feb. 29 and construction on its first phase is slated to begin in the coming months, said Larry Green, senior vice president of U.S development for Westfield Group. “It’s going to be a world-class destination for folks,” Green said. The project will connect Westfield’s Topanga and Promenade shopping centers with a walkable space for shopping and lifestyle use. Planned for completion in fall 2013, the first phase of the Village at Westfield will include a 145,000-square-foot Costco, which will anchor the development, and around 364,000 square-feet of retail space. The second phase calls for a 275-room hotel, a 12-story office tower and additional retail space. The project is slated to be complete in 2016. Some 3,000 construction jobs and nearly 4,500 permanent jobs will be created for the Village at Westfield, according to the company’s website. The project, which has been in planning stages for five years, has faced some challenges and community opposition leading up to its approval. The developer scaled back plans for the center — originally slated as a $700 million investment — amid the economic downturn. And area residents voiced concerns about the project’s impact on the community, including traffic and a 20-pump gas station that will accompany Costco, which residents worried would not be aesthetically pleasing. After countless revisions and more than 200 meetings with residents and city officials, Green and his team received feedback and suggestions that helped to shape the final product. Westfield leasing agents now are talking to prospective tenants. Although Green declined to disclose specifics, he said the company was in “negotiations with a number of very exciting prospects” and would be announcing them soon. The Australian-based Westfield Group operates 118 shopping centers in five countries with about 24,300 retailers. The company has shown particular interest in the Los Angeles region, investing more than $1 billion in properties, Green said. “I’m such a believer in this opportunity,” Green said. “I can’t wait to get it going.”

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