Church Takes Lease at Watercourt, Latest in Relocation Trend

The First Assembly of God Church has signed a 10-year lease valued at more than $1 million to move into the Watercourt at Westlake Village, the largest office building in eastern Ventura County.

The relocation of First Assembly of God in the next three months represents the latest use of area commercial properties for religious purposes.

The transaction also raises the occupancy of Watercourt to more than 95%, up from 53% about 18 months ago, when the project was acquired by the Watercourt General Partnership of Malibu.

Watercourt at Westlake is a 170,000-square-foot garden-office complex just west of the Ventura Freeway, at 850-920 Hampshire Road.

The church opted to move into 7,000 square feet of Watercourt after outgrowing its space at 750 Erbes Road in Thousand Oaks. It will occupy high-ceilinged space that had been designed for a dinner theater operation.

The church will convert approximately 4,500 square feet to a chapel, with the balance of the space devoted to classrooms and offices, said Tony Principe, executive vice president of Westcord Westoaks Commercial Group, the marketing agents for Watercourt.

“This use works well in this project because the church will be used primarily during off-hours, thereby mitigating parking and traffic,” Principe said.

He added that the use of commercial property by churches in the Conejo Valley is becoming more commonplace.

“Most churches in the Conejo Valley are in office or industrial buildings because of parking availability,” Principe said. “Moreover, churches are expensive to build and single-purpose, which is why you don’t see anyone building one on a speculative basis.”

Other major tenants of Watercourt include S. G. Hauser, Extreme Fitness Gyms, Greenery Executive Suites and Baja Fresh.