To have a vision is one thing. But bringing a billion dollar vision into reality is an amazing accomplishment that not many can achieve. We can thank Peter Lowy and Stephen Lowy who through their unfailing and inspired leadership steered this incredible undertaking to fruition with great style and class!
Tuesday October 3, 2017 was the special evening that officially launched the opening of the newly completed Westfield Century City Mall into the 21st century.
Along with the excellent team of executives, managers and workers from Westfield Corporation, this dream came to life in a spectacular Gala event that was truly magnificent.
The press conference included dignitaries Mayor Eric Garcetti, LAPD Chief Moore, Councilman Paul Koretz, and from Dancing with the Stars Winner, Noah Galloway. Both Peter Lowy and Steven Lowy were there to receive the accolades of the newly imagined and now open Westfield Century City.
As the mayor said, the newly completed mall has brought over 10,000 new jobs to the city and annual revenues will be double the amount of current spending. Metro rail is also adding a stop at the mall to ease parking. The 2028 Olympics start now the mayor said and we couldn’t agree more. There was a somber moment when the mayor took a moment to recognize the 70 LAFD and LAPD officers that were working in Las Vegas on the night of the Mandalay Bay Shooting.
The gala event was elegantly staged with the Westfield red and white theme colors throughout. Attendance was over four thousand VIP’s who came from the surrounding communities, including General Manager Offer Nissenbaum, from the five star Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills.
A beautiful orchestra opened the show, and included DJs, and several bands, Fitz and the Tantrums, The Village People and DNCE performed on a concert stage that had state of the art sound and lighting. This stage area will be utilized for future occasions and special VIP areas will also be available for private events.
The design of the "California Soul theme” gala was impeccable. No detail was missed. Beautiful staff served the guests drinks and food and it was a scene worthy of a great Hollywood premiere. Overlooking thousands of guests checking out the Telsa showroom, the grand opening of the new Nordstrom, Bloomingdales, Macy’s, over 400 stores and restaurants, one couldn’t help thinking that Westfield has delivered big league and given this community a fantastic experience that one will never find doing online shopping, that much is for sure!
Lowy’s vision clearly puts Century City on the international map. Millions of visitors from all over the world will no doubt make Westfield Century City a prime destination of their visit to Los Angeles.
The mall is so alive with life now and one reason is the excellent tone of leadership from Westfield corporate executives, down through the ranks of Westfield Century City employees who are the lifeblood that make it all possible. People forget the herculean effort that was undertaken to make this come about in the last two years. Throughout all the construction, remodeling and new building, the place stayed opened for business. The design architecturally throughout the mall is beautifully thought out and impeccably maintained.
Our community sends a huge thank you to everyone involved, from the CEO’s, CFO, VP’s, corporate offices to the Westfield Century City GM, Louis Schillace, Greg Dercach the marketing team led by Lili Fakhari, Zack Eichman, Gordon Harvey, Aram Marabyan, Lucy Cisneros, Mesha Hakopyan,, down to the terrific staff at housecleaning. These are the hard working people that tirelessly carry on day to day to keep the place running smoothly. Their attention to detail and professionalism is inspiring to say the least.
All of these dedicated individuals insure that Westfield Century City is now a state of the art destination to shop, sample fine dining, see movies, workout or have meetings in the beautifully designed Dinning Terrace. The community is so much richer for it. And with the newly completed Waldorf Astoria and other buildings that have just been completed, the Century City area is truly happening.
Especially now in the turbulent times we are living in, it is a noble thing indeed to see what can be accomplished when a leader shares a vision and his team works together as one to achieve and create something beautiful and life affirming. That’s how we as Americans roll.
Westfield Century City is not only the new jewel of the west coast but assuredly among the finest shopping centers in the world! Well done.
- Century City