At the end of May, Westfield Group, a huge retail and commercial development corporation based in Australia, revealed design plans for The Village at Westfield Topanga, a 550,000-square-foot center that features specialty shops, boutiques, eateries, a state-of-the-art gym, and spa.
The $350m construction, scheduled to open its doors in the fall of 2015, elicited this comment from Bob Blumenfield, the Los Angeles City Councilman representing the area:
"It's going to be a first-class destination. It's open-aired, it's pedestrian-friendly and it's part of the new vision of what this area is going to look like."
The design concept, according to Westfield, is focused on the Valley’s agricultural heritage, prior to the suburbanization of the area. Mall visitors will be greeted by walkways lined with a range of local and exotic trees. Courtyards will feature native grasses and agave. Other highlights include outdoor concert and performance spaces, a bocce ball court, and patios complete with fire pits and shaded overhangs.
When the flyer printing order is completed for the new development, there will be plenty of history-related highlights to include about the development. In addition to the mall’s landscaping tribute to the valley’s heritage, history is present in the very parcel of land on which the mall sits. The site was once part of a sprawling horse ranch, the owner of which was none other than Harry Warner of Warner Bros. studios.