Unibail-Rodamco’s $1B Promenade 2035 project gets approved

Sprawling mixed-use development to include 1.4K housing units, 2 hotels, 700K sf of office space

Councilmember Bob Blumenfield and Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield CEO Christophe Cuvillier with a rendering of the project (URW, Promenade 2035)
Councilmember Bob Blumenfield and Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield CEO Christophe Cuvillier with a rendering of the project (URW, Promenade 2035)

Now comes the even tougher part.

The Los Angeles City Council approved Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield’s $1 billion Promenade 2035 development project after four years of intense review.

The project, which encompasses 34 acres, will redevelop the Westfield Promenade mall in Warner Center. Unibail announced the news Wednesday.

“These challenging times make it even more critical to support continued investment in our city,” Unibail’s Kim Brewer, senior vice president of development, said in a statement. The project, she added, “is a model of how the city, community and businesses can come together to create a shared vision.”

The massive Promenade plan consists of 1,400 residential units, two hotels with a combined 572 rooms, 731,500 square feet of office space, 280,000 square feet of retail and a 7,500-seat sports arena.

Unibail said it plans to break ground within two years and work in phases, according to the L.A. Times.

Westfield proposed the project in 2016, three years after the city rezoned Warner Center for more dense mixed-use development. Unibail then acquired Westfield in late 2017 for $16 billion.

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The firm claims that the project will create 9,700 permanent jobs after completion and generate $17.2 million in annual tax revenue for the city.

The development was reworked a handful of times during the review process, sometimes after vocal opposition from residents.

Last July, the capacity of the stadium was cut in half, after locals raised concerns about traffic, crowds and crime.

Not long after that, a community group appealed the project on the grounds that it lacked affordable housing.

Unibail in February agreed to set aside 150 units of housing.

The project had strong support from local City Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, who called it a “game-changing development for the West Valley.” Blumenfield added that “our housing affordability crisis will only be solved by building affordable units, and this project includes the very first affordable housing in Warner Center.”