Renovation of The Oaks will include cineplex, more parking

The revised expansion of The Oaks mall in Thousand Oaks is a reduced version of the original expansion plan but retains all of the elements from before, according to mall owners. Residents will have a chance to review the new proposal at an informational meeting at 7 p.m. tonight, Thurs., March 16, at the Palm Garden Hotel on Ventu Park Road.

Instead of a Nordstrom department store being built on the east end of the 28-year-old shopping center, the high-end retailer will move into the Macy's building on the south side of the shopping center, according to city officials. There will still be two Macy's stores in the mall, with the current south side Macy's moving into the Robinsons-May west building.

The Robinsons-May east building will be torn down, as originally planned. In its place will be an outdoor retail area with a multiscreen stadium-seating movie theater complex and restaurants, billed as a "lifestyle center." In the original design, this feature was to have been part of a second phase. The new second phase includes adding another department store, a company not yet identified.

Mall entrances and interiors will be renovated as previously planned.

The new parking structure near Nordstrom has been reduced by one floor to three levels, while the parking structure that was to have been built near Macy's south and Robinsons-May east has been eliminated.

The plans are in the pre-application process, which means that city staff is working with mall owner Macerich Company on preparing a formal application. The new project will still be reviewed by the planning commission and the city council.

The original renovation plans were delayed a year ago after Federated Department Stores, owner of Macy's, announced plans to acquire May Department Stores, owner of the Robinsons-May stores.

The redesign must complete an environmental impact review, although one possibly not as extensive as before, and could change based on the results as well as public input. The process should move quickly because of so many similarities to the first proposal.

Additional community informational meetings on the new plan will be held at 7 p.m. Wed., March 22 at Los Robles Greens, Moorpark Road; 7 p.m. Thurs., March 23, at the Hyatt Westlake Plaza; and 7:30 p.m. Thurs., March 30 at the North Ranch Community Center in Westlake.

For information, call (805) 495-4628.