The Canadian owner of the Mall of America is negotiating to buy one of the largest redevelopment sites in Los Angeles: the former rocket-engine manufacturing site of Aerojet Rocketdyne, according to CoStar Group. The Woodland Hills property is expected to fetch approximately $150 million, per an anonymous source who was once involved in the deal.
Edmonton-based Triple Five Group Ltd., a development and finance organization with extensive experience in major mixed-use development projects, is rumored to be the buyer in the process of acquiring the 47-acre property at 6633 Canoga Ave. in Warner Center from United Technologies Corp., Rocketdyne’s former parent company. Founded in 1965 and operated by the Ghermezian family, Triple Five Group owns several of North America’s largest malls, including the 4.2-million-square-foot Mall of America in Minneapolis, the largest mall in the United States by square footage; and the 5.2-million-square-foot West Edmonton Mall in Alberta, Canada. Triple Five currently has the $4.8 billion American Dream Meadowlands mall in development in New Jersey.
As CoStar reported, Triple Five has been reaching out to numerous governmental organizations including Council District 3 City Councilman Bob Blumenfield. The prospective property falls in the zone of Blumenfield’s Warner Center 2035 Plan, which is earmarked for extensive live-work-play projects. Blumenfield’s office has confirmed that Triple Five representatives have approached his office regarding the site’s purchase but Blumenfield said his office has not been involved in the negotiations.
The former Rocketdyne site is being marketed as a site for urban neighborhood with up to 6 million square feet of development including 3,950 residential units, 1.13 million square feet of office space, 200,000 square feet of shops and restaurants, and a 210-room hotel.
The site is also among several in Southern California in the running for Amazon.com Inc.’s second headquarters. The e-commerce giant is looking at 20 markets across the country to house its $5 billion project that promises to bring up to 50,000 jobs spread over 8 million square feet of commercial buildings on at least 100 developable acres.
The land sale would signify the largest purchase of acreage in the Los Angeles market since Sares Regus Group acquired the 110-acre former Toyota USA headquarters campus in Torrance in 2017. Incoming Triple Five would signify direct competition to Westfield Corp.’s large swath of Warner Center mall property, including Westfield Topanga, The Village and the upcoming redevelopment of Westfield’s Promenade, which is promising 1,400 residences, a 15,000-seat sports and entertainment center, 620,000 square feet of office, 244,000 square feet of retail and a pair of hotels in the next dozen years.
On March 5, Realty Advisory Group Inc. Executive Director James Abbott, the UTC property’s listing agent, told the Business Journal that the property was currently in escrow but could not reveal the identity of the buyer.
Michael Aushenker is a reporter with sister publication San Fernando Valley Business Journal, where a version of this article first appeared.
