Simi Valley Town Center becoming a ghost town? (Oxnard, Thousand Oaks: neighborhood, buying)

[Marv101]

How are the city's politicians 'strangling' your fine city? Details, please.

[Cyanna]

Originally Posted by Marv101

How are the city's politicians 'strangling' your fine city? Details, please.

By making the cost of opening and/or running a successful business here way too high.

[user_id]

Originally Posted by SOON2BNSURPRISE

Would a better guage be to look at crime statistics over the past decade or two and see what changes have occured?

Yes, and the crime rate increased between the mid 90's to the mid 2000's...I think that is largely attributable to population growth. But starting around 2004, the crime rated started to slowly decline each year and its now close to where it was in the 90's. On the other hand, if you look at Thousand Oaks its crime statistics have actually declined a bit. So its a little of both, Simi Valley has more crime and some of the other cities have less.

Regardless, Simi Valley's crime rate has been dropping for the last 8 years so things haven't been getting worse.

Originally Posted by SOON2BNSURPRISE

As far as the Town Center is concerned, empty units are just part of todays economy. I was at the Oaks Shopping Center on Friday and noticed plenty of units that were empty near the mall.

Yes, but the number of vacancies in the Town Center is far more than normal. Lease periods for these sorts of developments are typically 5-years and after 5-years many of the businesses left and now the place is very empty. The same can't be said of the Oaks, its vacancy rate is healthy for a center of its size and the movie theater has been a huge success, so much so that they've added 3 restaurants to the area. Still, Thousand Oaks probably has too much retail space as well. I think city officials, who are often old, are stuck in an old paradigm where the cities get money for developments, etc. But the internet has changed, and continues to change, everything.....

Of course, Oxnard takes the cake. It has a half-built center collecting dust..... Ventura has been good at revitalizing existing infrastructure though.

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

Originally Posted by user_id

Yes, and the crime rate increased between the mid 90's to the mid 2000's...I think that is largely attributable to population growth. But starting around 2004, the crime rated started to slowly decline each year and its now close to where it was in the 90's. On the other hand, if you look at Thousand Oaks its crime statistics have actually declined a bit. So its a little of both, Simi Valley has more crime and some of the other cities have less.

Regardless, Simi Valley's crime rate has been dropping for the last 8 years so things haven't been getting worse.


Yes, but the number of vacancies in the Town Center is far more than normal. Lease periods for these sorts of developments are typically 5-years and after 5-years many of the businesses left and now the place is very empty. The same can't be said of the Oaks, its vacancy rate is healthy for a center of its size and the movie theater has been a huge success, so much so that they've added 3 restaurants to the area. Still, Thousand Oaks probably has too much retail space as well. I think city officials, who are often old, are stuck in an old paradigm where the cities get money for developments, etc. But the internet has changed, and continues to change, everything.....

Of course, Oxnard takes the cake. It has a half-built center collecting dust..... Ventura has been good at revitalizing existing infrastructure though.

I love that movie theatre at the Oaks Mall. Very cool. I had to stop in to a place at the Oaks and ended up walking around the outdoor area. Like what they have done there. I had not been to the Oaks in a long time, and had not been anywhere nere the Theatre. Not sure what will happen with the buildings east of the theatre heading toward Moorpark Road. I would hope that at sometime that area is revitalized.

Oxnard has plenty of places collecting dust. The center at River Park that was going to be the end all to do all has only a Target opperating thus far. I did recently see some movement within the construction site but it would seem still that completion could be a few years down the road.

So true on the buying habbits of people. I seem to shop on line and many companies seem to meet that need with online offerings. My older kids are mall rats though and love to hang out at both the Oaks and the Pacific View Mall in Ventura.

[user_id]

Originally Posted by SOON2BNSURPRISE

Oxnard has plenty of places collecting dust. The center at River Park that was going to be the end all to do all has only a Target opperating thus far. I did recently see some movement within the construction site but it would seem still that completion could be a few years down the road.

Yes, but this represents a total failure of governmental planning and I don't think Oxnard has really learned much from it...

[Lovehound]

Simi Valley has been subject to all the same economic forces all over the land, including nearby SFV which has just as many closed businesses.

These are not local forces. They are statewide at minimum and are more likely national or even international forces.

Simi is no worse off than nearby communities in SFV and in LA in general.

[gow75]

this may be an old thread but since it was started the simi town center has not improved very much since 2011. now we are looking into the 2013 ( if we are here per the Mayans) at another year of being a ghost town. I read most your responses and I did not see anything in regards to the actual stores that used to be there that did close. Most of the stores they put in the town are for rich blooded snobs. the stores are from beverly hills and simi valley is a mostly a middle class suburb. those kinds of shops do not belong here in simi let alone this outlet should have never been built WTH were they thinking. We have the mountain gate plaza that could have been a good renovation, same with the sycamore plaza. putting a new mall in this economic climate just did not make sense. yes it is thriving but only because of Restaurants. well they could have done this at the other plaza's and brought more vitality to the area as well.

[nightlysparrow]

Originally Posted by gow75

Most of the stores they put in the town are for rich blooded snobs. the stores are from beverly hills and simi valley is a mostly a middle class suburb. those kinds of shops do not belong here in simi let alone this outlet should have never been built WTH were they thinking.

Completely agree. Not to mention that many of the same stores already existed in The Oaks mall in T.O., or in the Camarillo Outlet Center.

Once somebody tried and failed with a vegetarian restaurant in Simi, too. Wrong demographic!

[the city]

I don't know what to say about the Oxnard mall, but I think it's a matter of the economy. Oxnard has grown to 200,000 population, so there is definitely enough people to support a mall.

The mall near me, in Santa Maria, has construction for a movie theater and businesses are starting to open up at the word of a movie theater under construction.

I think too that a little bit of crime is not bad in a city because you can avoid living in that part of the city. Even Santa Barbara has a little bit of crime and it has one of the highest concentrations of wealth in the state. What is more important is how good your schools are. Rio Mesa High and Pacifica High in Oxnard and Pioneer Valley in Santa Maria rate about the same as of 750 API index score which is lower than an average score for 800. Nearby schools in other cities like Camarillo, Thousand Oaks, and Simi Valley have far better schools. I definitely would avoid schools in the below 750 range.

[gow75]

Im sorry but its the shops and what they sell. currently I went to the town center and a ghost town it will remain. the shops that left for good reason do not belong here. the owners of those shops must have thought we all drive round a mercedes and or a Bentley and like to buy there products. this is why business fails, demographics and the forethought to do the real Digging and research it takes to make a business flourish in any Economic environment. the town center was a terrible idea but at the same time it has warded away the trash of Simi valley which is good because mountain gate is slum ville now and i hate going near that area of simi. lets take Pac sun for instance they used to be the top Surf and skate shop that i went to because of there Variety of clothing, now they have nothing but crap clothing glad they closed. The only thing that place has going for it is the Restaurants that is it. I foresee it will close it doors further on the other shops such as Zumiez and probably Macy's , why spend $50 for a shirt when i can get it for $20 online. This is the turn of the tide you can think the Internet for the demize of walk in stores.