Japanese Investor May Finance Center Project : Thousand Oaks: An unidentified businessman ‘looking to expand his realm’ is considering a hotel-business complex at the Jungleland site.
A Japanese investor is considering financing a multimillion-dollar hotel and business complex at the Jungleland civic center site in Thousand Oaks, city officials said Wednesday.
The investor, whose name was not released, will meet this afternoon with Thousand Oaks city staff members and representatives from Los Angeles-based Lowe Development Corp. to discuss the project.
For about five months, Lowe officials--under the direction of the city--have been searching for a suitable investor to finance the private hotel and office complex at the proposed civic center complex, which is to include a cultural arts center and new government facility when completed in 1993.
Ted McGonagle, project manager for Lowe, said his firm actively sought American investors to finance the development but could find no takers. As a result, Lowe approached the Japanese businessman, represented by Mitsui Manufactures Bank.
“He’s looking to expand his realm,” McGonagle said.
Although Thousand Oaks city staff members said they welcome foreign investment, one City Council member said Wednesday he is uneasy about the idea.
“It seems mighty strange to me,” Councilman Larry Horner said. “If they can’t get any Americans involved . . . is this deal any good?”
McGonagle responded that there is nothing unusual about having a foreign investor. “If you look at almost all the development projects in Los Angeles and New York, the majority have overseas partners,” he said.
McGonagle said Lowe officials hope to complete their agreement with the businessman within the next two months. “Right now, it’s not a 100% done deal,” he said.
Horner and several Thousand Oaks residents have expressed fear that Lowe might back out of its agreement to build a hotel and office complex at the Jungleland site, which would jeopardize the entire civic center project.
But if the agreement with the Japanese investor falls through, Lowe will seek another foreign financier to finance the project, McGonagle said.
“If this guy goes away, Lowe isn’t going to go away,” McGonagle said. “We’ve put a whole lot of money into this project.”
After five years of planning, the City Council recently approved a $55.6-million budget for the Jungleland project, named after a wild animal theme park that once occupied the site on Thousand Oaks Boulevard at Conejo School Road. But some critics say they fear the publicly financed portion of the development could top $100 million.
In February, the city and Lowe entered into a joint-venture agreement for the private development, culminating more than two years of negotiations and setting into motion the search for a financier for the hotel and office complex.
