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Warner Center is amaster-planned business district in theCanoga Park andWoodland Hills neighborhoods of theSan Fernando Valley inLos Angeles, California.[1]
Warner Center, which began as a master-planned area, is designated as a Regional Center within the City's Canoga Park-West Hills-Winnetka-Woodland Hills Community Plan. Historically, Warner Center is generally bounded by Vanowen Street to the north, the Ventura Freeway to the south, De Soto Avenue to the east, and Topanga Canyon Boulevard on the west.[2] The Warner Center 2035 Plan (adopted in December 2013) added the area between Vanowen and the LA River to the plan area, which comprises approximately 1,100 acres or 1.7 square miles.[3]
The area was originally planned to relieve traffic to and from downtown Los Angeles, as well as generate jobs in the San Fernando Valley. It was first envisioned in the late 1960s.[1]
Warner Center is named forHarry Warner, the eldest of theWarner Brothers, who owned the land since the 1940s, which he used as a horse ranch. His family donated 20 acres (8.1 ha) of land in 1967 that became the Warner Center Park (also known as the Warner Ranch Park), situated east of Topanga Canyon Boulevard between Califa Street and Marylee Street.
In 1968, Robert Allison, then the manager for the San Fernando Valley office ofColdwell Banker, arranged the sale of 630 acres (250 ha) of the land toAetna Life and Casualty for $30 million. Aetna acquired the land for long-term investment and development purposes, and later brought inKaiser as a joint venture partner. Mr. Allison spearheaded the early land planning, subdivision and development efforts on behalf of Kaiser Aetna.
Initially, large tracts of the Warner Ranch land were developed in the Canoga Park portion, between Victory Boulevard and Vanowen Avenue.Topanga Plaza was first, followed by engineering facilities and headquarter offices for the aerospace companiesRocketdyne andLitton Industries.
With the sale of the land to Aetna, the pace of development in Warner Center accelerated. Kaiser Aetna acted as a master developer, offering land for sale or lease, buildings for sale or lease, and leased buildings built to owner's specifications. Development sites from very small parcels up to 100 or more acres were offered.
In the ensuing 20 years, much of the build-out of Warner Center occurred, including approximately 4,300 multi-family dwelling units, and millions of square feet of commercial and office space. Notable developments include:
Real estate developer Robert Voit, in partnerships with Robert Allison andNew England Life Insurance Company, developed the Warner Center Business Park and Warner Center Plaza. The partnerships were wound down in the early 1990s and since that time the ownership of the properties has become fragmented.
During the 1990s following the completion of the Warner Center Plaza project, relatively little new development occurred. The economic slowdown of the early 1990s, combined with the damage from the1994 Northridge earthquake, served to put the brakes on new development for the rest of the decade.
The next major project was LNR Warner Center, which was built at the site of the formerPrudential Life Insurance Company buildings between 2001 and 2005, totaling over 1.4 million square feet of primarily office space.
Also, in the early 2000s, a flurry of new multifamily housing projects were built. This burst of residential building created concerns in the community about issues such as traffic. In reaction to these concerns, City CouncilmemberDennis Zine initiated a restudy of the Warner Center Specific Plan in 2005.
The Warner Center 2035 Plan (WC 2035 Plan) is a development blueprint for Warner Center that emphasizes mixed-use andtransit-oriented development,walkability, and sustainability.[4]
A Citizen's Advisory Committee was established in 2005, consisting of members of the local neighborhood councils including the Woodland Hills-Warner Center Neighborhood Council and the Canoga Park Neighborhood Council as well as business and property owners, which worked with city planning staff and its consultants to develop the plan. In December 2013 the plan was adopted by the Los Angeles City Council.[4]
By 2035, the plan anticipates an additional:[4]
In 2011, theLos Angeles Daily News quoted City Planner Ken Bernstein as describing a new vision for Warner Center as more "cosmopolitan, 21st century." The paper added: "The plan would allow 40-story skyscrapers. Small retail shops — where locals could walk to buy basics — would be encouraged, in an area now dominated by national chains and big malls. The long superblocks and six-lane thoroughfares would be 'cut up' by adding paseos and crosswalks to create a more intimate feel for pedestrians."[5]
In 2012 the City Council approved theVillage at Westfield Topanga - which included a newCostco, as well as a massive retail, dining, and entertainment development that would combine with two existingWestfield Warner Center malls (Westfield Topanga Mall andWestfield Promenade Mall).[6]
The 34-acre vacant shopping mall (14 ha), The Promenade, was sold in March 2022 to sports owner and real estate developerStan Kroenke for approximately $150 million.[7] A month later, Kroenke bought an adjacent vacant 13-story office building, officially named the Landmark building, on 31 acres (13 ha) of parking lots and landscaping for $175 million, formerly occupied by health insurerAnthem Inc.[8] The combined property is being developed into a lifestyle and entertainment district called theRams Village at Warner Center which includes the permanent team headquarters and practice facility for theLos Angeles Rams.[9] The Village shopping center was also purchased by Kroenke in January 2023 for $325-million bringing his total property ownership to 100 acres (40 ha).[10]
In October 2005, theOrange Line was established creating an east–west link across the San Fernando Valley linking Warner Center withNorth Hollywood and theMetro Red Line. In June 2012, the Orange Line was expanded to include a north–south line connecting Warner Center withChatsworth and theMetrolink system. The G Line (name changed in 2020) no longer serves Warner Center and is replaced with Metro Route 601 which runs between theCanoga station and Warner Center.
Los Angeles Fire DepartmentStation 84Archived August 12, 2007, at theWayback Machine (Woodland Hills) andStation 72 (Canoga Park) serve Warner Center.
Security officers employed by Allied Universal Security Services continuously monitor and patrol all buildings, parking structures, and loading docks.Los Angeles Police Department operates the nearby Topanga Community Police Station.[11]
Kaiser Permanente Woodland Hills Medical Center is a general medical and surgical hospital inWarner Center. Kaiser Permanente Medical Center consists of a 175-bed hospital and serves 2 million residents of theSan Fernando Valley. Kaiser Permanente Woodland Hills Hospital, a non-profit general medical and surgical facility, is operated by Kaiser Foundation Hospital.[citation needed]
The hospital had 12,600 admissions in the latest year for which data are available. It performed 4,055 annual inpatient and 5,197 outpatient surgeries. Its emergency room had 38,131 visits. Kaiser Permanente Woodland Hills Hospital is the highest ranked hospital in theSan Fernando Valley, and ranked 13th highest hospital among Los Angeles-area hospitals because of its strength in specialties such as cancer, diabetes, endocrinology, gynecology, orthopedics and urology."[12]
34°10′44″N118°36′04″W / 34.179°N 118.601°W /34.179; -118.601
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