Shopping Center Seeks to Become Town’s Center

It may never have the draw of Santa Barbara’s State Street or the bustle of Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade.

But if developer Rick Caruso’s vision is realized, Thousand Oaks residents may soon have a town center of their own--a place were locals will meet and greet, eat and shop, read a book or sip on a blended fruit juice, even catch a flick if so inclined.

The Promenade at Westlake, Caruso’s 210,000-square-foot mall, on the corner of Thousand Oaks and Westlake boulevards, is scheduled to become the latest addition to the city’s array of shopping centers when it opens Nov. 7.

But for a city like Thousand Oaks, which lacks any kind of pedestrian-friendly downtown, the Promenade will do more than provide yet more upscale shops and restaurants. At least that is what the man who created the new mall is saying.

“I think it is going to be the center of town,” boasted Caruso, as he strolled through the site amid hundreds of construction workers racing to finish the mall in time for the opening.

Caruso, the president of Brentwood-based Caruso Affiliated Holdings, said the Promenade was designed to re-create a sense of community in an outdoor setting. With abundant landscaping, wide sidewalks, courtyards adorned with elegant fountains, facades and walkways in custom-made materials and even a small stream that will meander between the patios of two gourmet restaurants, Caruso envisioned the Promenade as an inviting place--a modern-day town square.

Whether the strip of specialty shops and restaurants and the draw of an eight-screen movie theater and a Disney center for children can become the city’s hub of activity remains to be seen.

But residents and city officials overwhelmingly support the project. And retail analysts suggest that the Promenade is following an industry trend to build something other than the ubiquitous regional malls, which are usually anchored by large department stores.

“There absolutely is a trend toward blending retailing with entertainment,” said Richard Giss, a partner in the trade retail group at the accounting firm Deloitte & Touche. “The earliest manifestation were malls that included movie theaters. That has been around for about 15 to 20 years. What’s different about it now is that there is an increased emphasis around the entertainment component.”

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Besides the theaters, the Promenade will feature Club Disney, the entertainment giant’s latest play land for children and toddlers. Disney officials are keeping details of the project, which is scheduled to open in January, under wraps. But the 23,000-square-foot facility will include an activities center, a retail store and a Mickey’s Cafe. If it succeeds, Disney plans to replicate the club throughout the country.

Additionally, numerous elegant restaurants, cafes and a huge Barnes & Noble that will dwarf the bookstore chain’s shop in Ventura, will make the Promenade an attractive place to linger, retail analysts said.

“The entertainment stores and the theme restaurants are the hottest thing in the industry,” said Mark Schoifet, a spokesman for the New York-based International Council of Shopping Centers. “And bookstores like Barnes & Noble and Borders have redefined the way books are sold. They have turned it into an event.”

By including a coffee shop, comfortable sofas, as well as bringing regular speakers, those types of bookstores have become a magnet for people looking for something to do, Schoifet said.

“In New York, Barnes & Noble is the biggest singles bar in the city, especially for people in their 20s,” Schoifet said.

The Promenade will feature more traditional retail shops too. Cost Plus, an import furniture store, and Bristol Farms, one of the country’s most exclusive grocery chains, are the center’s other anchors, Caruso said.

And that blend of merchants makes for some interesting scenarios, Caruso said.

A perfect date in Thousand Oaks’ surrogate town center may look something like this: After a dinner of California cuisine at an elegant restaurant, a couple would stroll down the spacious sidewalks peering into the shop windows, stop to enjoy a cup of coffee at one of thefountain-side cafes, then head into a theater to catch the latest blockbuster. The flick would be followed by ice cream at the Cold Stone Creamery and maybe a bit of literary browsing at the bookstore.

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During a daytime visit, Caruso said, kids accompanied by a parent could stop for hot dogs after some play time at Club Disney. Then the parent would flip through the extensive magazine rack at Barnes & Noble and pick up some groceries at Bristol Farms.

Morris Newman, senior editor of the California Planning and Development Report and Los Angeles correspondent for Architecture magazine, said that while the idea of creating a downtown atmosphere from scratch is radical--it has been done before.

On a larger scale, Universal’s CityWalk is a prime example--one that may not please everyone but is commercially very successful, he said.

“Certain things work and certain things don’t,” he said. People like spaces where they feel safe, where there is a human scale, where the layout is clear, where the space is well lighted and where the mix of stores and things to look at is exciting, Newman said. “People walk if the walking is interesting.”

That is precisely what Caruso has attempted to do, area homeowners said.

“What he has done is he’s made it like it would be your own home,” said Cathy Schutz, president of the Westlake Joint Board of Homeowners Assns., an umbrella group representing 40 homeowner groups in Thousand Oaks and Westlake Village.

From lanterns made by craftsmen in Mexico, to hand-quarried paving stones and custom-made fountains, the emphasis has been on fine details, Schutz said.

Caruso pointed out that the different materials and colors of the mall’s stores give it the look of a place that was built over time--like Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade. The center will also offer frequent outdoor concerts.

That area homeowners and city officials are behind the project is no surprise. From the mall’s inception, Caruso met with area residents and city officials and asked them to define what they wanted.

“He came to us before he made any plans,” Schutz said.

For example, Schutz said, Bristol Farms was brought in after homeowners frowned at Caruso’s initial suggestion of a more run-of-the-mill grocery chain. “We pushed for something different,” she said. “We pushed for Bristol Farms.”

Caruso was also able to please city officials, who approved the project unanimously.

“These types of malls are very successful,” said Linda Parks, a planning commissioner and City Council candidate who is often critical of large developments. “I think it will work. I really think that giving people a place to gather is what you want in your cityscape.”

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Parks said Caruso’s other development in the city, The Village at Moorpark, on the corner of Thousand Oaks Boulevard and Moorpark Road, although much smaller than the Promenade, has already proven that this kind of development works.

“At the Moorpark mall there are always people sitting down,” Parks said. “All it is is a fountain with tables and chairs that are not there for any specific restaurant. It’s so pedestrian-friendly.”

And even those most likely to be adversely affected by Caruso’s project are surprisingly upbeat.

“I think the Promenade is a great addition to Thousand Oaks,” said Diane Brandes, marketing director for The Oaks mall, one of the county’s largest regional shopping centers. “I think there is room for more shopping centers.” While The Oaks has movie theaters, its large department stores make it more retail-oriented, she said.

Just across the freeway from the Promenade, a handful of merchants at the Westlake Plaza Shopping Center said the new mall would not affect their own clientele, but may hit the center’s overall business.

“I don’t think it is going to interfere with us so much,” said Tommaso Barletta, owner of Tuscany Il Ristorante. Barletta said his restaurant is more elegant than anything that is coming to the Promenade. “But it is definitely going to kill some merchants here.”

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The co-owners of the East Coast Bagel Co. franchise at Westlake Plaza, Carrie Croick and Tina Patterson, agreed.

“We are not too concerned,” Croick said. “But I know other restaurants will suffer. It [the Promenade] is definitely going to be a hub. Why else would Disney take such a big undertaking?”

Patterson said the Promenade would likely be the nicest mall in town.

“I hope it doesn’t turn this into a ghost town,” she said. “But I know I’ll be over there.”