Work to Start This Year on Calabasas Complex

Construction is expected to begin by the end of the year on the $28.5-million, 280,000-square-foot Calabasas Commerce Center, a mixed-use business and retail center by Jaric Developers and Ahmanson Commercial Development Co. in Calabasas.

Located on a 16-acre site at the intersection of the Ventura (101) Freeway and Las Virgenes Road, the project will include nearly 200,000 square feet of research-and-development office space and more than 80,000 square feet of retail space, according to Michael Baskauskas, chief operating officer of Los Angeles-based Jaric Developers.

“Lease negotiations for more than 50% of the center have confirmed our belief in the demand by tenants for such specialized high-tech office and industrial parks,” he said. “Tenants planning to anchor the retail space include a supermarket and a large sporting goods store. A number or restaurants are considering locating in the center.”

Jaric plans to develop build-to-suit office space in the project, designed by the Irvine architectural firm of Ware & Malcomb. The buildings will be expandable to increase office space as required.

“We are flexible enough to accommodate the small, medium and large space user. That’s the key to our leasing success, even in a crowded market,” Baskauskas said, adding that Coldwell Banker’s Ventura and Sherman Oaks offices are handling the leasing. Jaric Contractors will build the project, with completion expected in the third quarter of 1987.