CAMARILLO : Planners OK Final Phase of Outlet Mall

A Newport Beach development company has gained the approval of the Camarillo Planning Commission to begin construction of the third and final phase of the Camarillo factory outlet mall.

In a unanimous vote Tuesday evening, the Planning Commission gave the go-ahead to Chelsea GCA Realty Inc. to begin work on the final 209,000-square-foot phase of the mall located on Ventura Boulevard between Carmen Drive and Las Posas Road, according to Matthew Boden, city director of planning and community development.

Boden said the commission told Chelsea GCA that the city would withhold permits to occupy the 40 new stores in the final phase until the initial phase of the Carmen Drive-Ventura Freeway interchange project is complete. The first phase of the interchange is expected to be finished in about a year, Boden said.

“That will not preclude them from starting construction, it just prevents them from allowing tenants to occupy the stores until the first phase of the freeway project is completed,” Boden said.

The mall’s first, 165,000-square-foot phase opened to the public on Feb. 28, with discount stores for manufactures such as Levi’s and Bass clothing stores, OshKosh B’Gosh children’s clothing, Mikasa china and Asics athletic footwear. Construction on the mall’s second, 80,000-square-foot phase is already under way and is expected to be completed by October.

Susie Plummer, a Chelsea GCA spokeswoman, said the company expected to begin construction on the final phase in early 1996, finishing about 12 months later. She said the completion of the final phase should coincide with the completion of the initial renovations to the Carmen Drive overpass.

When completely finished, the mall--which is expected to generate between $400,000 to $500,000 in annual tax revenues to the city--will measure 454,000 square feet and will feature more than 100 stores.