Warner Center, which was once a horse ranch in Woodland Hills and Winnetka, has been developed into its own distinct metropolitan area of the San Fernando Valley. Its namesake is Harry Warner of the famous Warner Brothers Studios based in Burbank. He purchased the 1,100 acre ranch in the 1930’s and by 1947 had established a Thoroughbred racing stable. In 1967 Harry’s family donated 20 acres of land to become Warner Ranch Park.

Soon after the sale of 630 acres of the ranch was completed with Aetna they brought in Kaiser as a joint venture and master developers of the Warner Center. It included 4,300 multi-family dwelling units, Promenade Mall (1973), Warner Center Business Park (1975), Warner Center Plaza (1980-1991), Kaiser Permanente Hospital (1986), and The Trillium (1987). These tall commercial office buildings are what comprise the Warner skyline as we know it today. Another well known name was also partly responsible for the development of Warner Center, Robert Voit son of William J. Voit, developer of the first all-rubber inflatable ball and the process of vulcanization leading to the manufacturing of the modern day football.

The turn of this century brought the Prudential buildings with more than 1.4 million feet on mainly office space. This raised concern and a Citizen’s Advisory Committee was formed in 2005 and in 2013 the Warner Center 2035 Plan was adopted by Los Angeles City Council. The plan includes 1 million square feet of non residential building, 20,000 residential units, and the potential growth for 49,000 jobs. This development and plan considered transit, walkability, entertainment, and necessary supportive retail for the area. Los Angeles City Planner Ken Bernstein in 2011, was quoted by Los Angeles Times describing the vision for the future Warner Center as “cosmopolitan, 21st century.”