The property where the Caruso company’s Lakes retail center is located in Thousand Oaks will be sold to Rick Caruso in a deal that will allow the real estate developer to add a six-story residential apartment building to the site.
Caruso plans to build up to 165 residential units on the 7.5-acre commercial parcel behind the mall.
Thousand Oaks City Council approved the deal in a 3-2 vote on Nov. 30.
Caruso, who had been leasing the property from the city, since The Lakes opened in 2005, will now purchase the property for $2 million or fair market value, whichever is higher, and pay the city an additional $13.1 million in community benefiting payments across 37 years. The annual payments will depend on the number of apartments constructed.
Caruso had been leasing the property under an agreement in which he would pay rent to the city only if his profit margins achieved a certain threshold – which the property never met, according to the developer.
By upgrading the Lakes’ restaurants and retail spaces and creating apartments behind the shopping center – which is adjacent to Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza and City Hall – Caruso said during the City Council meeting that a “synergy and energy” will develop between all the elements toward cultivating “a vibrant downtown.”
In addition to the Lakes, the Caruso company’s creations include The Promenade in Westlake Village and Village at Moorpark retail centers in Ventura County; The Commons at Calabasas, Encino Marketplace and The Americana at Brand retail centers in North Los Angeles; and the Rosewood Miramar Beach Resort in Montecito.
