328-unit apartment complex heads to Thousand Oaks council

The Thousand Oaks City Council is scheduled to vote Tuesday on a proposed 328-unit apartment complex with commercial space that would be one of the city’s highest-density developments.

The project at 500 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd. would put up three buildings, each four or five stories. Some 8,500 square feet of commercial space would include retail and restaurant uses on the ground floor of the buildings. Apartments would range from studios to two-bedrooms, with 44 designated affordable. Several live-work units are also planned.

Thousand Oaks planning commissioners last month voted 4-0 in favor of the project. The panel's vote serves as a recommendation to the council. Of a half-dozen speakers at the meeting, five were in favor, according to the city's staff report.

The project is being built by Newport Beach-based Cherry Tree Capital Development. It would rise on a vacant 6-acre site that now features large oak trees and wild grasses. The property is on the south side of Thousand Oaks Boulevard, east of Lombard Street. The site had previously been used for a plumbing supply storage building put up in the 1970s, a staff report said, and remnants of a remaining parking lot would be demolished.

Two parking structures would provide 459 spaces. Another 16 on surface areas would bring the total to 475 parking spaces.

Because the project includes affordable units, state law allows higher density at the site than city plans otherwise would, said Fabiola Zelaya Melicher, deputy community development director. The council previously approved 236 residential units for the property in March 2022, she said.

The project would feature an internal street between buildings that would be pedestrian friendly, two parks and other amenities. Nearby commercial centers offer dining, retail, grocery and recreational opportunities, a staff report said.

The City Council will meet at 6 p.m. at the Janet & Ray Scherr Forum Theatre at the Civic Arts Plaza, 2100 Thousand Oaks Blvd.

Correction: This story has been updated. Fabiola Zelaya Melicher is the city's deputy community development director.

Dave Mason covers East County for the Ventura County Star. He can be reached at dave.mason@vcstar.com or 805-437-0232.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: 328-unit apartment complex heads to Thousand Oaks council