A Change in Plan for Plot Adjacent to Arts Plaza

Ever since city leaders came up with their vision for the Civic Arts Plaza, they have been talking about plans for the land next door--an impressive, crowd-luring restaurant and movie theater complex dubbed the “private side.”

But to the City Council’s increasing frustration, the property is still a remarkably unimpressive, barren lot surrounded by a chain-link fence.

No trendy restaurants for patrons of the Charles E. Probst Center for the Performing Arts. No top-flight multiplex to accentuate the concert hall. No money for Thousand Oaks, which owns the $9-million property and is desperate to sell it to offset the costs of the $64-million Civic Arts Plaza.

So what’s with the delays?

Kilroy Industries, the El Segundo-based company trying to develop the private side, has had a tough time pleasing Thousand Oaks residents. Homeowners criticized Kilroy’s initial plans, saying they looked like a strip mall, were too dense and failed to blend in with the small park next door.

Now Kilroy officials are ready to unveil a new, scaled-down version of the development which they are confident will meet the scrupulous standards of both Thousand Oaks homeowners and city leaders. The company has planned an open house from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Civic Arts Plaza’s Oak Room.

Gone is the hotel that was lambasted by residents as garish. Also the massive record and book stores that would have been anchors of the project, eliminated in response to criticism that they were too much for the 11-acre site.

But the principal elements of the project--a multiplex cinema, a virtual-reality games center, gourmet coffee and ice cream shops, and several high-quality restaurants--are still in place.

For Kilroy, the improved plan had better be right--it may be the company’s last chance. Kilroy has been working under an exclusive negotiating agreement with the city since September. The contract has been extended several times to allow for design revisions. However, the agreement is set to expire April 10 and council members say they are unlikely to drag the process on with Kilroy any longer.

*

Mayor Andy Fox, who said he did not mince words in a recent meeting with Kilroy representatives, believes the company has gotten the message.

“I told them in no uncertain terms that this was it, that there would be no more extensions if I had anything to do with it,” Fox said. “I think they’ve responded.

“There was a perception that they were not doing everything they could to make the project nicer,” he added. “They were missing the point. The architecture was not making the statement that this was a town center.”

Dave Armanetti, director of development services for Kilroy, said the layout and architectural restrictions of the site have been a challenge. Although the property totals 11 acres, he said only about eight acres of the site are usable. What’s more, architect RTKL Associates of Los Angeles has been asked to come up with a design that blends in with the Civic Arts Plaza’s distinctive look without mimicking the unorthodox appearance of the landmark--a daunting task.

However, Armanetti believes that Kilroy has finally got it right this time. The company has received good responses to its latest plans in recent meetings with homeowners’ groups and a committee of local architects and builders assembled to give feedback on the project.

“They’ve really done a good job reacting to the criticism,” said architect Francisco Behr, a member of the committee. “They made a lot of changes, some of which I know they didn’t really want to make.”

For instance, Behr said, Kilroy wanted to have some outdoor parking at the complex, but reluctantly agreed to limit parking to a large concrete garage with a capacity of 900 to 1,000 vehicles.

So who are the potential tenants for the private side? Things are still unsettled, Armanetti said, but there are some certainties.

*

The complex would be centered around a state-of-the-art, 12- to 14-screen United Artists movie theater that would accommodate a total of 3,100 people. It would also feature a special motion-simulation theater--similar to the popular “Back to the Future” ride at Universal Studios. And Virtual World, a company that operates high-tech virtual-reality games, would be a subtenant of the theater. Virtual World’s interactive games allow teams to fight computerized battles against each other.

“It’s certainly nothing you can get in Ventura County right now,” Armanetti said, arguing that the complex would find a niche in Thousand Oaks’ increasingly packed multiple-cinema market with its virtual-reality and motion-simulation features.

Plans also call for the development to include several restaurants, some upscale, others more family-oriented. Among chains with which Kilroy is negotiating are Wolfgang Puck Cafe, the food guru’s stab at chic for the masses, and Claim Jumper, an Irvine-based chain specializing in barbecued ribs, chicken, burgers and other traditional fare.

There would also be upscale ice cream and coffee shops, a kiosk area offering novelty goods, and possibly even a microbrewery.

However, unless Kilroy’s plans receive the thumbs-up from residents and the City Council in the next 10 days, the land next to the Civic Arts Plaza may remain barren for a while.

“They need to come up with something now,” said Councilwoman Judy Lazar. “If it’s not what we want, then we need to go find someone else. I’m not prepared to hold their hand for another six months.”