Plan Would Improve Civic Center Location

With an eye toward saving money and nudging their proposed civic center out of the shadows of a nearby movie theater, Calabasas officials may decide to build the center much closer to Calabasas Road.

The civic center, which would house City Hall and a library, is part of the larger Calabasas Park Centre, a 67-acre development at Parkway Calabasas and Calabasas Road that planners envision as the city’s centerpiece.

Under the previous plan, motorists cruising along Calabasas Road would have had a view mainly of a six-screen movie theater, restaurants and office buildings, with the civic center somewhat hidden toward the rear of the property, said Planning and Building Services Director Mark Persico. The new proposal, suggested by Persico, would put the civic center on a prominent spot along the road.

“I said, why don’t we just put it on the street, because the city owns the street,” Persico said.

Persico said the move could save the city money if Kilroy Calabasas Associates, which owns the land and is developing the office buildings, agrees to donate the land for the civic center to the city. He said Kilroy would still have enough space to build its three planned office buildings.

A Kilroy representative familiar with the project did not return a call for comment Tuesday.

Dave Brown, a Calabasas planning commissioner, said that when the commission approved the project last year, it included an incentive in the form of additional office space for Kilroy if the developer agreed to give some land for the civic center. Kilroy has already designated 15 acres of hillside land as permanent open space on the site, Brown and Persico said.

The cost of the project will depend on variables such as the price of land and amount of floor space, but previous city estimates put it at $10 million to $12 million.

The City Council and Planning Commission will consider the proposal at a meeting tonight, which begins at 7:30 p.m. at Calabasas City Hall, 26135 Mureau Road.