Oxnard Approves Construction of 15-Story Office Tower

The Oxnard City Council has approved construction of a 15-story glass office tower that will join two other skyscrapers in the Financial Plaza in the northeast section of the city.

The council voted 3 to 1 over the protests of area homeowners and school district officials late Tuesday to approve the $57-million project planned for seven acres south of the Ventura Freeway near Vineyard Avenue.

The tower is expected to take at least a year to design, and construction isn’t expected to begin for at least 18 months, city planners said.

The 300,000-square-foot building will generate one-time developer fees of $1.7 million and, when completed, is expected to create about 2,500 jobs and generate annual tax revenue of about $168,000. After paying for police and fire protection and other related costs, the city will net nearly $14,000 a year.

“Right now, this city is in dire need of money,” said Councilman Andres Herrera. “And it’s in dire need of economic revitalization.”

Mayor Manuel Lopez voted against the proposal after his fellow council members deleted a provision that would have required the developer, Martin V. Smith, to contribute $150,000 toward low-income housing.

“I really support the project, but there is a tremendous need for affordable housing,” Lopez said. “Everyone supports affordable housing, but when it comes time to live up to it, to bite the bullet, we never do it.”

Eileen McCarthy, an attorney for California Rural Legal Assistance, a farm-worker advocacy group, said city officials should have required developers to help pay the cost of providing low-income housing.

“It’s unfortunate that the city didn’t take the opportunity to be in line with the goals and policies set forth in its planning documents, given the dire, unmet need for housing in this city that is affordable to low-income families,” McCarthy said.

Some opponents of the project argued that there already is too much vacant office space in Oxnard and throughout Ventura County.

The vacancy rate throughout the county for office buildings of at least 10,000 square feet was 24% in the last three months of last year, according to Grubb & Ellis Commercial Real Estate Services.

In Oxnard, the vacancy rate for office buildings during that period was 30%.

But representatives of the Oxnard-based developer said Smith’s other two high-rises--the 21-story Union Bank Tower and the 14-story Ventura County National Bank Building--have vacancy rates of only about 10%.

“We are creating a product that is desirable,” said Stanley Cohen, an attorney for the developer. “We think our project is going to be very beneficial to the city.”

But some who live and work in the shadow of the two existing office towers don’t agree.

Representatives of the Rio School District urged the council to make the developer pay more fees, arguing that the project will add students to the district’s already crowded schools.

“We’re bursting,” school board member Art Hernandez told the council during a three-hour public hearing Tuesday night. “We’re bringing forward our concerns and yet no one believes us.”

And Eleanor Branthoover, chairwoman of the Rio Lindo Neighborhood Council, said the project will generate too much traffic and too much noise.

“We’ve just not been considered important all through this process,” she said.

Yet others argued that the project is badly needed to jump-start Oxnard’s sagging economy and put unemployed laborers back to work.

“I’m 100% for this project,” said Lucas Escobar, a construction contractor who lives near the site.

Smith began building the Financial Plaza in the late 1960s, according to city staff members.

In addition to the twin towers, the plaza has other office buildings, restaurants and, most recently, a day-care center. The larger tower is the tallest building between Los Angeles and San Jose.