Oxnard OKs Plan for Factory Outlet Center

Oxnard officials have shot out of the gate in the race to build Ventura County’s first factory outlet mall by approving plans for the city’s booming northeast area.

The City Council voted 5 to 0 late Tuesday to allow construction of a 284,000-square-foot center on 27 acres south of the Ventura Freeway between Rice and Rose avenues.

To provide incentive, the council offered to freeze building fees, thus saving the developer about $1 million.

The plans call for about 45 upscale stores that will employ more than 300 people and generate an estimated $1 million in sales tax revenue for the city by 2000.

The action puts Oxnard well ahead of neighboring Camarillo in the race to establish the county’s first factory outlet mall.

“It looks like we’re in a horse race, but we’re now in the pole position,” Oxnard Mayor Nao Takasugi said.

Scrambling to lure customers from throughout the region, officials for both cities have been pushing competing plans to develop factory outlet malls that would open by the end of 1993. Developers of both projects have said they are not confident that the region can support two malls and stressed the importance of being the first to break ground.

The Camarillo City Council agreed last week to give developers of a proposed 60- to 80-store mall in that city a sales tax rebate to offset sewer and water costs. The rebate would save the developers--the Irvine-based Koll Co. and the Leonard family of Camarillo--about $600,000.

But the Oxnard City Council on Tuesday approved specific plans for the development.

“I think we are in a very competitive market and we just have to do what other communities have done to lure new businesses,” said Councilman Manuel Lopez of the agreement to freeze development fees.

The action allows the developer--the Carl M. Buck Building Co. of Los Angeles--to seek financing for the project.

The outlets are proposed for an area of Oxnard where city officials have approved a long line of high-volume retail centers that are expected to draw customers from throughout the region.

The architectural plan calls for the outlet center to be surrounded by a farm-like setting, complete with a water tower and silo. The developer also agreed to establish a convention and visitors bureau in the complex to encourage out-of-town customers to shop in Oxnard.

Although the finish line is still far away, Oxnard council members said they believe that they have established a firm lead in the factory outlet race.

But a member of the Camarillo City Council said she believes that the Ventura County region, which stretches from Santa Barbara to the San Fernando Valley, needs both outlet centers to draw enough customers to survive.

Vice Mayor Charlotte Craven said tourists and others are drawn to large outlet malls with more than 100 stores.

“I think the idea is ridiculous that the area can only support one of them,” Craven said Wednesday. “I believe that if anybody is going to have just 40 or 50 stores, they better hope the other one goes in.”

Craven even suggests establishing a shuttle between the two centers.

“As soon as the two cities wise up and stop fighting, the better off we will be,” she said.

Factory outlet centers--generally occupied by brand-name manufacturers selling their wares at a discount--have become popular tourist attractions in recent years.

There are about 250 outlet malls nationwide, with about another 130 in the planning stages.