Relocation of Schools’ Office Called a Blow to Downtown

When the county superintendent of schools office leaves its building in Ventura for a site in Camarillo, the move will be the biggest exodus from downtown in years, city officials said Friday.

Camarillo city officials and businessmen, however, say they look forward to having the new tenants, and feel that their city can serve them equally well.

School officials say about 110 employees work at the superintendent’s office at 535 E. Main St., and the move may cause a large vacancy in an area where the city wants to attract more people and businesses.

The corporation that owns the building is negotiating with a retail tenant to take over the lease when the superintendent’s office pulls out within a year, said a member of the Assistance League of Ventura County, which owns the building.

“It’s very, very tentative,” said the member, who asked not to be identified.

The last time a large company moved from downtown was in 1990, when about 145 people at Texaco Inc. left the area, said Miriam Mack, administrator of the Redevelopment Agency.

That building is still vacant, she said.

Mack said the upcoming move would be an opportunity to have another retail business on Main Street, instead of a large office building.

“You really shouldn’t have an office building that size there,” Mack said. “It does damage to the retail aspect of that block.”

School officials say although they will miss being a part of downtown Ventura, the move is a purely economic decision. They have been leasing in Ventura since 1967, and the depressed economy makes it a good time to buy a building, said Ventura County Supt. James F. Cowan.

“It’s like renting a house rather than buying a house,” Cowan said. “This will also make us more centered.”

The building at 5189 Verdugo Way in Camarillo, near Camarillo Airport, will be financed by certificates of participation, which are similar to bonds but do not require voter approval. The building is closer to the rest of the county schools and to the other countywide school services that are located at the airport, Cowan said.

The superintendent’s office now pays about $100,000 a year to lease space in downtown Ventura that has no parking facilities, said Assistant Supt. Robert Smith. “We’ll save millions and millions of dollars in the long run,” Smith said.

The two-story facility, now occupied by Unisys Corp., has more parking and is 5,000 square feet larger, Smith said. It was chosen over five other sites, he said.

Camarillo Mayor Stanley Daily said, “We’re very pleased. I think we have a very nice place to live, good merchants, great people, good schools, and that makes us a nice place to live and work.”

The new headquarters is housed in a business area, off Pleasant Valley Road near the Ventura Freeway, said Skip Pease, a board member of the Camarillo Chamber of Commerce.

“It’s a nice area,” Pease said. “Restaurants are nearby. It’s not a walking kind of thing, but it’s an easy jump to get there.”

Improved on- and off-ramps are also being installed at Pleasant Valley Road, which will make it easier for commuting workers, Pease said.

But local Ventura merchants on Friday mourned the relocation, saying that losing more than 100 people will have a significant impact on downtown businesses.

“It’s pretty sad, but there’s nothing you can do,” said Chang Liampetchakul, owner of Tipps Thai Cuisine on Main Street. “Business has been affected the last year with all the people moving out of downtown and the bad economy.”

Liampetchakul said his business has been down about 20% this year. Tipps is the closest restaurant to the superintendent’s headquarters and about 20 people from that office come daily for lunch or dinner, Liampetchakul said.

Kris Pustina, owner of Franky’s restaurant on Main Street, said, “It’s a knife to the heart. . . . They’re a part of this community.”

But more people are moving into downtown than are leaving it, Pustina said. “We’re really starting to change.”

In its heyday in the 1940s, downtown Ventura was the county center for retail and entertainment. Now the area is mainly composed of thrift stores, coffee shops and furniture outlets that are patronized by working-class neighborhoods off Ventura Avenue.

City officials have been trying to revitalize downtown since the 1970s, but all construction in the city came to a stop in 1990 when the City Council declared a water emergency and imposed a moratorium on new water hookups.

The restrictions were eased this year when the council approved a plan that would allow new commercial development if builders replace water-wasting toilets in existing buildings with low-flush models.

City Councilman Gary Tuttle said downtown redevelopment would not significantly speed up until after new residential projects were approved. The council probably will not approve any residential projects until after a new water source is found, Tuttle said.

Tuttle said having a new tenant at the superintendent’s headquarters would be a chance to remodel the building, which does not fit in with the rest of Main Street because it is an office.

“Ideally, you get the office people to locate downtown, but off the main downtown area,” Tuttle said. “Certainly, I wish they would stay in Ventura.”