Roadway part of new vision for civic center

Main Street concept introduced



MAIN STREET T.O.— A conceptual map shows an overview of the Performing Arts Center Campus Master Plan, which was created by AECOM, a global engineering firm, with input from city staff and two council members. The outline in red is the current footprint of the Civic Arts Plaza, parts of which, under the proposal, would need to be demolished to make way for a new roadway. City leaders will react to the plan at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. City Manager Andrew Powers stressed that the map is subject to change based on input from council members, the community and future grading studies. Courtesy of City of T.O.

RE-IMAGINEDA conceptual map shows an overview of the Performing Arts Center Campus Master Plan, which was created by AECOM, a global engineering firm, with input from city staff and two council members. The outline in red is the current footprint of the Civic Arts Plaza, parts of which, under the proposal, would need to be demolished to make way for a new roadway spanning the length of the property. City leaders will react to the plan at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. City Manager Andrew Powers stressed that the map is subject to change based on input from council members, the community and future grading studies. Courtesy of City of T.O.

Main Street . . . Thousand Oaks? The rarely discussed concept is at the center of a bold new vision for the area around City Hall and the Bank of America Performing Arts Center (PAC, aka the Civic Arts Plaza) set to be unveiled this week.

At the Nov. 5 City Council meeting, staff will present the PAC Campus Master Plan, a $1.4-million design effort to reimagine 13 acres of publicly-owned property on the south side of Thousand Oaks Boulevard, from just past Oakwood Drive in the west to The Lakes shopping center in the east.

City staff, with input from an ad hoc committee comprising Councilmembers Al Adam and Claudia Bill-de La Peña, has spent the past seven months working with global engineering giant AECOM to create the plan.

The resulting vision includes a small roadway spanning the length of the property running parallel to T.O. Boulevard. On either side of the street: restaurants, cafes, coffee shops and bars.

As it’s currently designed, drivers could access the roadway off either Dallas Drive (in front of Gardens of the World), The Lakes Drive or via an as-yet-to-be constructed street just beyond the so-called Westside property.

City Manager Andrew Powers said the main street concept solves a problem the council has grappled with for years: how to create a vibrant downtown area without slowing traffic on the city’s busiest east-west thoroughfare to a crawl.

EASY ACCESSAn illustration shows one of the ideas being discussed for a new entrance to the Performing Arts Center/Civic Arts Plaza. Courtesy of City of T.O.

A conceptual map of the plan (shown above) shows a drop-off area off Dallas Drive that would connect to the PAC via a new grand staircase. Various dining/entertainment/commercial options are suggested along the roadway, as are potential institutional uses.

“It transforms what is today a quiet, contemplative acreage in front of the Civic Arts Plaza into a more vibrant, flexible, programmable, multi-use space,” Powers said in an interview with the Acorn.

The city has been in talks with Cal Lutheran University about taking up room on the proposed campus, but Powers also mentioned nonprofits, arts groups and even California Museum of Art Thousand Oaks, which had to move to The Oaks mall last year after the city failed to renew its lease.

“Bringing these plans to fruition is going to require civic will, for sure, but it’s also going to require innovative public/private and public/institutional partnerships,” the city manager said.

Depending on what the council decides, the city could also look at reconfiguring City Hall to make it more service-friendly, Powers said. Less square footage is required as the city’s workforce is down over 100 employees since the arts center was constructed in 1993-94.

Majestic oaks

Key to the vision, Powers said, is incorporating the property’s numerous native oak trees, widely considered some of the finest specimens in Thousand Oaks not found in open space.

City planners and AECOM have spent months collaborating with landscapers and arborists to decide how best to showcase the trees in the plan. The work involved detailed mapping of the trunks, canopies and “drip lines” of the centuries-old trees.

An example of how a large native oak could be incorporated into a dining setting. Courtesy of City of T.O./AECOM

“That’s been one of the most interesting dialogues we’ve been having,” he said. “There’s some pretty amazing techniques of preservation and enhancements for oaks, and we could use this as a canvas to showcase those.”

A photo scheduled to be part of Tuesday’s presentation shows diners seated around a giant oak with lanterns hanging from its branches.

Parking

Another key element of the plan: a second parking structure. The structure would ensure that those attending shows at either of the city’s two theaters as well as those coming to drink or dine will have ample parking, Powers said.

“One of the biggest challenges has always been . . . when we have a sold-out performance in the theater, which happens with increasing frequency, doing a major event in front is not really a possibility because there isn’t adequate parking,” the city manager said.

Many theatergoers simply opt to park at The Lakes and make the trek up and down a long ramp to a set of stairs or an elevator that takes them to the PAC lobby.

“The beauty of it is, you’d be able to park there, walk in and walk down a grand staircase. You couldn’t do that today. When you’re here today you’ve got to wander all the way around the back and past the box office and into the side yard and around,” Powers said.

So who pays for this?

The city manager did not want to give a hard estimate but said the entire project—as envisioned at this very early stage—could cost well north of $100 million.

The bulk of that cost would be shouldered by a still-to-be-decided private development partner, not unlike what occurred with the creation of The Lakes 15 years ago. In that instance, the city came to an agreement with Rick Caruso (billionaire businessman and philanthropist) whereby he would build and operate the shopping center in return for a highly reduced rent.

In fact, under the 55-year lease Caruso signed with the city, he is getting the 7.5-acre parcel essentially rent-free.

Powers said he sees key differences in the situation at The Lakes and what he envisions for the civic center campus deal.

“We’re trying to achieve a major renovation to our existing property and an enhancement of the frontage of the property, and we’re trying to provide major community benefit—a town square, a new main street, a central gathering place for our community,” he said. “That is a very ambitious goal but, based on our resident feedback, is a very well-supported concept.”

The city’s partner would be selected through a transparent bidding process and then made to sign a development agreement that ensures the council’s vision is met, Powers said.

“We want to make sure we elicit the most public benefit with the least impact to taxpayers, that’s the focus,” he said.

A side-by-side graphic showing the civic center campus today (at left) and how it could be revamped and reconfigured (at right) under the new master plan. Courtesy of City of T.O./AECOM

In addition to the private investment, Powers said, the city has just under $20 million in its capital improvement budget specifically earmarked for improvements at the site.

As for the additional parking structure, it’s possible the city could explore a “community facilities district” whereby entities with space in the new campus would agree to tax themselves to pay back the taxpayers over time.

One option city leaders aren’t considering, according to Powers: raising taxes.

“I don’t think anyone has an interest or appetite here for raising taxes here locally, so our focus has been, how do you accomplish this through a whole variety of financing tools.”

At Tuesday’s meeting, which begins at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 2100 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd., the council will be asked to provide feedback and vote on the city’s next course of action.