Incorrectly Named Enclave at Warner Center Apartment Complex Nearing Completion
GlobeSt.com writes:
IRVINE, CA-Western National Properties, an affiliate of Irvine-based Western National Group, is nearing completion on construction of its 195-unit Enclave at Warner Center apartment complex, one of the relatively few new ground-up luxury apartment projects under construction in Southern California today. Rex F. DeLong, president of Western National Properties, tells GlobeSt.com that the company expects to have the building at 6710 Variel Ave. in Woodland Hills available for first move-ins in December.
I’d like to take this opportunity to rant about something. The area that this complex is in (bounded by De Soto, Vanowen, Canoga, and Victory) is not, in my opinion, or on any formal or informal map I’ve ever seen, known as Warner Center. To me, Warner Center ends at Victory. But, what you have is a few apartment complexes going in north of Victory trying to latch onto the ‘Warner Center’ name to attract a higher caliber of renter, and thus charge higher rents. According to the US Postal Service, this area is Woodland Hills, however there are some maps that map it as Canoga Park, and mail to this area goes through the 91303 Canoga Park post office on Sherman Way. (See LA Times Woodland Hills Map | Canoga Park Map)
Archstone Warner Center is guilty of using this misnomer, as will be Enclave Warner Center. The Avalon complex next to Enclave seems to be aware of the situation and went with the more cautious Avalon Warner Place name. Unsuspecting prospective tenants visiting these complexes will be shocked at the terrible maintenance condition of the streets in this neighborhood (as per standard disrespect that Canoga Park receives from the city of LA). Variel, Kittridge, and Eton in this little area look like streets in Baghdad.
Essentially my bone of contention here is that these apartment communities market these properties as something they simply are not – located in Warner Center, and arguably not even in Woodland Hills.
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4 Responses to “Incorrectly Named Enclave at Warner Center Apartment Complex Nearing Completion”
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It shouldn’t use the Warner Center name since it doesn’t fall inside the original 1,100 acres Harry Warner purchased. In reality, anything calling itself Warner Center in the name should be next to the park.
My family has lived in the hills overlooking Woodland Hills and Canoga Park before the 101 freeway was constructed when there was nothing but orange groves and dirt roads.
If you want to incorrectly use public services to identify what belongs to Woodland Hills or Warner Center, the Orange Line ends at the Warner Center Transit Hub and the line ends 1,000 ft away from the Enclave.
But why should we listen to public officials and the local council? The Post Office is, afterall, the official source for zoning information.
Sunny and you are correct. It is canoga park. Woodland hills 91367 stops at south side of Victory I believe. The mall, Nordstrom has their address as Canoga park 91303. So the builder has wrong area and city in naming the complex.
http://cityplanning.lacity.org/complan/specplan/spmaps/Detail/WarnerC/1planarea.pdf
Girard,
The City of LA clearly defines the new multi-family apartment area (Kittridge & Variel) within the “Warner Center Specific Plan”. As an apartment builder the Spefic Plan adds more requirements to an already involved process with the City of LA. The link above shows the Warner Center northern boundary as Vanownen St. Councilman Zine’s website lists this area as Woodland Hills. The owners of the various apartment complexes are not falsely using the Warner Center name as a marketing tool.
Historically there may be a smaller area of “Warner Center” but the City has broaden the boundaries to incorporate more housing into the employement center. The ultimate goal is to create a live/work area with minimal commuting. As for the street maintenence, the City requires each development to repave all frontage streets. An area that used to be run down with abandoned warehouse and a seedy indoor swap meet now has landscaped sidewalks, trees and housing within walking distances to major employment centers. I realize that this response is a year after your original post but the content is still current.
Hey Grant,
Well, let’s take my comments in the timeframe in which they were written. That area has changed a bit in that there is now even more multi-unit apartment construction at or nearing completion. So, the area is probably moving towards that whole urban live/work vibe.
Now, let’s also face the fact that the area is adjacent to a rougher part of Canoga Park and Winnetka, and is above Victory Blvd, which is to me a clear psychological and physical demarcation line for Woodland Hills.
So, yes, the area is part of the Warner Center specific plan. But, if I was taking the company’s word for it and leased an apartment sight unseen and moved to the area, I’d probably have to shoot myself in the head.
BTW is the city ever going to fix the horrible streets over there? Also, living over there is certainly a traffic nightmare because the busway cuts off the free flow of traffic to that nook. I know because I often go to FedEx and the condition of the street is atrocious, bordering on disgusting. Considering there are now probably 1500 apartment units in that area, I’d really think the developers would push for the streets to be fixed.
If the city won’t do it, I think you developers need to all chip in and get the access streets that are not directly linked to your ‘frontage’ repaved, because they are disgusting. You need a 4×4 to get to these nice new apartments.
The bottom line here is, naming incorrect or correct, I stand by my assertion that Enclave, Archstone, and the other new property are seriously isolated from Warner Center – past, present, and probably future – and should be careful identifying themselves as a part of it.