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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

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Agoura Hills is quickly emerging as the Conejo Valley’s darling of development, with the city this month considering two competing proposals to build major retail/entertainment complexes. The proposed projects, one called Creekside Center and the other Riverwalk, are targeted for sites on opposite ends of Kanan Road. Each project has been designed to be anchored by a 16-to-18-screen multiplex, and to feature restaurants, retail and office space. Both projects also have been in the works for several years, but had stalled because of environmental and noise issues. This time, the deciding factor may turn out to be which developer can be the first to land a theater chain as project anchor. “Ultimately, if the movie theater industry says only one complex can support a theater, then whoever lands that (theater tenant) will probably move forward,” said Dave Adams, Agoura Hills city manager. “Aside from that, both projects have the same (environmental) issues of traffic, and a creek running through the property.” Agoura Hills already has one eight-screen Mann Theatre multiplex, and city officials and the developers of both proposed projects agreed that the city’s 24,000 residents could not support two more large theater multiplexes. As a result, both developers are scrambling to be the first to land a theater chain anchor tenant. So far, Creekside Center appears to be leading the race for a movie house. Rhode Island-based Starwood Wasserman Inc., developer of Creekside, has been in talks with various theater owners, including Edwards Cinemas. (Edwards is already a tenant at the Starwood-owned multiplex at the Ontario Mills mall.) Mann Theatre had been in talks with Starwood about the Creekside project, but backed out earlier this year after the movie chain was sold. Meanwhile, officials of Riverwalk’s developer, Agoura Partners LLC, said they have been in preliminary talks with some theater chains. Grant Harris, a co-owner of Agoura Partners, asserted that, even if Riverwalk is unable to land a theater and Creekside does, Riverwalk would remain a viable project. “It’s not terminal if we don’t get a theater,” Harris said. Either proposed project would be the first major retail center in the city, providing substantial revenues to city tax coffers. City officials doubt whether there is enough demand for both projects. They are envisioning a project that could be Agoura Hills’ answer to such mixed-use successes as the Westlake Village Promenade or Calabasas Commons. “We view it as a key project at the entryway to the city,” said City Manager Adams. “There’s a lot of interest in it.” But even with preliminary support, both proposals face a tough road. They have been previously blocked by the city because of environmental and noise issues. A creek runs through both project sites. Homes are nearby. And a new freeway exit ramp would be needed to support increased traffic. Both developers say their plans adequately address those issues. The proposed mitigation measure includes paying for the required ramps, incorporating the creek into their projects, and resolving traffic concerns of residents. Nonetheless, both developers acknowledge that gaining city approval will be tough. “The city of Agoura Hills is very deliberate and careful with what they want there,” Harris said. “(The Riverwalk) is on a challenging site.” Riverwalk was first proposed three years ago, but struggled to pull together a big enough piece of land. Its current target site, which Agoura Partners has an option to buy, is sufficiently large to accommodate the envisioned 200,000-square-foot project. Various plans for Creekside Center, meanwhile, have been bouncing around in the city approval pipeline for the last decade. Starwood Wasserman signed on to develop the project last year after landowner Vance Moran decided it would be too much for him to undertake. Moran has agreed to sell the 30-acre project site to Starwood Wasserman, but that pending sale won’t be finalized until Starwood Wasserman receives city approval and permits. So far, Marriott International Inc. has agreed to build a 150-room hotel as part of the project. Starwood Wasserman Managing Director David Wasserman said the project has a better chance of being approved this time because it has been redesigned to address the council’s previous concerns. “It’s really the right place at the right time,” Wasserman said. “The city’s perception of the project is positive and we’re comfortable there.” While the city council considers the two proposals, Agoura Hills voters will vote in November whether more-stringent protections for open space should be instituted. The slow-growth ballot measure would stipulate that land zoned for open space couldn’t be rezoned without a two-thirds vote of residents. Currently, such rezonings only require a simple majority vote by the council. Fran Pavley, a backer of the slow-growth measure and former Agoura Hills mayor, stressed that she and other slow-growth advocates are not opposed to commercial development within the city’s commercial district. One area of town that will remain as open space is the 125 acres of Ladyface Mountain that Moran is donating to the city. The land, adjacent to the Creekside site, is the biggest gift of private land to the city. Moran who is the biggest landowner in Agoura Hills, with roughly 470 acres of commercial and residential property said he donated the land because he wants to ensure it won’t be developed.

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