Businesses encouraged to reduce blight with money from the city

The Thousand Oaks Redevelopment Agency gave $240,000 in grants to six businesses at the June 23 City Council meeting.

With the goal of revitalizing the businesses, the grants had been recommended on May 12 by the Business Roundtable, a citizen's committee appointed by the City Council.

The businesses given the grants employ 76 people.

Future Medical Clinic, 322 Thousand Oaks Blvd., was given $100,000 to help renovate a former telephone services building into a new rental location for a Ventura County medical clinic that serves lower-income people. The budget for the renovation is $1.5 million. The money from Thousand Oaks is meant for new windows, access for people with disabilities, seismic upgrades, parking lot lighting repairs, repainting and landscaping.

Dental offices and a vacant dental suite at 104-110 Thousand Oaks Blvd. received $50,000 toward a $115,000 city-approved project to remodel the exterior with a new facade, lighting, signage, awnings and paint.

Palm Plaza at 2655-2677 Thousand Oaks Blvd. was given $30,000 for roof and other repairs.

A retailer at 2510-2598 Thousand Oaks Blvd. will improve the building's facade with a $20,000 grant.

Conejo Auto Upholstery at 2600 Thousand Oaks Blvd. will replace eves and re-stucco the exterior.

A retail area that includes a balloon and trophy shop at 2626 Thousand Oaks Blvd. will receive $20,000 for parking lot improvements.

In 1998 the city began offering revitalization grants to owners of aging commercial properties to reduce blight, support local businesses, help preserve jobs for lowand moderate-income workers and encourage the upgrading of commercial properties, according to a Business Roundtable report. Since 2005, the program has been offered every two years.

To be considered for this year's grants, property owners inside the Thousand Oaks Boulevard Redevelopment project area submitted applications from Feb. 1 through March 31. Roundtable members John La Rocca, Susan Murata and Joel Volk, along with city staff, visited the sites of 15 applicants in mid-April. Requests from those applicants totaled $1.08 million.

The redevelopment agency approved the recommendation for $240,000 in grants 4-0, with Councilmember Dennis Gillette absent.

A percentage of taxes paid to the state from the redevelopment area is given back to that area to revitalize it.