Getting up to Speed on Westfield’s “The Village” Shopping & Entertainment Destination
Woodland Hills business owner and friend to the blog Tanya Peel writes:
I get the feeling you don’t know about the Westfield Plaza 3 year project going in. It will essentially be The Grove. Trolleys, walking, retail, office and condo living. The city has approved the plans and now they are pushing through LEED certification. I hope they continue with their efforts in that department. They are supposed to break ground next year. It will bring 6,000 local jobs and I think increase our property values!
Tanya you are absolutely correct that I was ignorant of this! I could tell that Westfield was up to something but didn’t realize there was as full blow plan like this about to be executed. Obviously I am going to need to bring myself up to speed on this.
This is Westfield’s July 17, 2007 Press Release on the project. Thankfully, it seems, M. Night Shyamalan is not associated with this “The Village” – that would be a disaster.
In 2008 when Westfield submitted their first firm fleshed-out proposal for the project, and LA.StreetBlogs.com did a good writeup and grabbed this graphic from the Daily News:
Westfield's The Village
As noted in this blog, the first phase of the operation, the construction of a wonderful Crate & Barrel has already come to fruition.
Interestingly several articles I came across talk about using a peoplemover to connect the three malls. But, here’s reality folks. This new “The Village” complex will probably be very busy, on par with Topanga Plaza. But, Topanga Promenade Mall is essentially a joke beyond the northern section that contacts Corner Bakery, Maggiano’s, and uWink. Honestly they should be bulldozing that haphazardly renovated relic of a mall and just put “The Village” there.
This new development ties into a train of thought that I am saving for another post. Basically, the reality is that Topanga Plaza is in Canoga Park, not Woodland Hills – though I’m sure we’d like to claim in for ourselves. This new development is firmly below Victory, and thus belongs to the Hills of Woodland.
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Exit Circuit City, Enter Urban Blight Halloween Super Store
I guess it was inevitable that this would happen. A month or two ago the abandoned and empty old storefront of Circuit City at the corner of Canoga Ave and Victory became occupied by a Halloween store. Shoot me in the head. Realistically, any store that doesn’t have real signage and has to indefinitely rely on vinyl banners should be outlawed, zoned out, whatever it takes.
What’s worse is it seems like these squatters have a tennacious way of sticking around forever. There is also one of these eyesores in Canoga Park also on Canoga Ave. that has been there for far too long. This also what happened several years back when the degenerative movie theatre on the corner of Victory and Topanga went out of business, and became occupied by a similar Halloween store. Thankfully Westfield, it seems, eventually gobbled up the property and placed a glorious Crate and Barrel there.
Speaking of that plaza and its growing list of business fatalities (Black Angus, the now torn down bank that once stood at Victory & Owensmouth, Yankee Doodle’s, and the long abandoned Chinese Restaurant) we can only hope that Westfield has plans to force out the FedEX Kinkos and Cocos and put some more modern ammenities on this parcel. This 1970s relic of a shopping plaza is a really antequated waste of bankable real estate. It’s only conjecture, but I’m pretty sure Westfield owns this stretch of land – as they have some signage for the Westfield Topanga Mall on the property.
Sure, it might sound wrong to be optimistic about a corporate bohemoth like Westfield coming in and revitalizing an area, but honestly they seems like the only folks willing to put money into a place to make it nice.
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Only Twelve Days Left to Enjoy Crate & Barrel’s Fall Upholstery Sale!
Ok, perhaps in these challenging economic times you are not exactly thinking about refurnishing your home with fine custom upholstered pieces. But every year, Crate & Barrel has a great in store sale which features 25% off any custom upholstered furniture item. To my knowledge this is an in store event only, which should make you extremely thankful that we have a Crate & Barrel here in Woodland Hills that offers the company’s “Furniture Collection.”
The Monolith: Crate & Barrel Woodland Hills
I remember being so happy when Crate & Barrel opened this store last November (at the corner of Victory & Topanga Canyon Blvd). I am indeed a big fan of Crate & Barrel, and had to drive all the way to Beverly Hills a few times to look at and buy furniture items, because until then it was the closest store with the Furniture Collection. Granted, there is a great deal of product duplication between this store and the standard C&B inside the Westfield Topanga Plaza mall, but as I said, this one has the glorious Furniture Collection.
Anyways, you can learn more about the Fall Upholstery sale here – and remember, the savings end October 12th! All this shilling and I don’t even get a commission! Man, I wasn’t paying attention when I took that picture of the store the other day and got a smashed up hoopty in the foreground. Sorry C&B, I know that’s not how your customers typically roll!
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LA Times Business Article References Woodland Hills ‘All Green Things’ Shop
All Green Things
Looks like green business networking events are en vogue. Check out the LA Times article that ran yesterday, featuring Woodland Hills business woman Tanya Peels:
For Tanya Peel, who opened her All Things Green shop in Woodland Hills in April to sell eco-friendly pet food, jewelry and other items, hosting a local event for the networking group Green Drinks last week was part of her plan to build a grass-roots network in her community. She wants to find environmentally friendly businesses she can work with and to which she can refer her customers.
“It’s kind of going beyond strictly the quest for profits,” Peel said.
Looks like the LA Times flubbed the name of Peel’s shop, as it’s actually “All Green Things.” Green networking is definitely a great way to meet good business people with a great sense of integrity and environmental awareness. I haven’t been to All Green Tings yet but hopefully I can swing by and check it out soon. To learn more about the Green Drinks group and eco-friendly business networking in Woodland Hills, I suggest you visit their website. That page gives contact info for Peel and info on how to get involved. Also, check out All Green Things at 5321 Topanga Canyon Blvd. They also have a great website with plenty of eco friendly products. Cool stuff.
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Woodland Hills Whole Foods Wednesday Hot Bar/Salad Bar Special thru 11/11
Whole Foods at Canoga Ave & Ventura Blvd
As heard in store and on their twitter account – “Every Wednesday from 9/23-11/11 our salad bar and hot bar are only $5.99. Yes, $5.99″
This applies to the Woodland Hills Whole Foods located at the corner of Ventura Blvd and Canoga Ave. I have a feeling their business has been hurting since Trade Joe’s and Henry’s moved into the area. More on those in a nother post!
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