New shopping opportunities come to local residents
By Sylvie Belmond belmond@theacorn.com

The number of retail outlets in Moorpark is rapidly increasing as stores are opening in several new shopping centers throughout town.

The Village at Moorpark, on the southwest corner of Miller Parkway and Los Angeles Avenue, is anchored by Chick's Sporting Goods, Petco and Staples.

The first Chick's in Ventura County, the Moorpark location is one of 13 under the company banner. Most of the local store's 92 employees are college and high school students from the area, according to manager Lalo Reyes.

Office supply store Staples officially opened earlier this month and will employ about 30 associates. The store recently donated a $1,500 check to the Boys & Girls Club of Moorpark in a show of community support.

"By supporting local organizations like this, we are able to give back to a community that has welcomed Staples as a new neighbor," said general manager Michelle Brooks.

Petco opened on Dec. 27 and employs about 25 people, according to Ed Goulding, store manager.

Another 60,000 square feet of retail business space at the Village at Moorpark will open in the next few months, said Mark Ossola, developer and owner of the shopping center.

The Village at Moorpark will have several eateries, including The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Romeo's Restaurant, Camille's Café and Cold Stone Creamery.

Other retailers will include Verizon Wireless, Leslie's Pool Supply, hair salon Great Clips, Bank of America, a spa called Massage Envy, Ortho Mattress, a nail salon, a dry cleaner, Pacific Dental Services, and other small retailers.

"These businesses will probably open in April," Ossola said.

Ossola owns another property behind Target that is slated for development. In addition to a Home Depot, which is scheduled to open in about a year, the 33 acres will include a 300,000square-foot business park with offices and research and development light industrial buildings, Ossola said.

The Moorpark Grove shopping center on the south side of Los Angeles Avenue, east of Park Lane, is also nearing completion.

It will include a large Don Cuco Mexican restaurant that will feature a patio dining area, according to developer Keith Palmquist.

A Pizza Hut and other restaurants are also slated for the center as are a high-end luxury spa and salon and a dry cleaner, Palmquist said. He also hopes to bring in a family Italian restaurant and a hair salon from Beverly Hills.

The developer, who moved to Moorpark four years ago, is also building two centers in Fillmore. He also coowns Kim3 International Furnishings, a home furnishing and art gallery retailer with several outlets in California.

Palmquist wanted to create centers like the Westlake Promenade and The Lakes next to the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza but on a smaller scale, he said.

"Retail stores must have a beautiful environment and provide lifestyle features to thrive," Palmquist said.

Palmquist is working with Larry Greene, who is developing the neighboring Tuscany Square shopping center, to create continuity between the two centers. Both developers used the same architect and worked together on designs, Palmquist said.

Greene said he hopes to break ground next month on the 70,000square-foot Tuscany Square, which will be anchored by Walgreens and will feature a specialty grocer new to California.

Greene hopes to attract restaurants, retail shops, and banks to his center. Construction of Tuscany Square is expected to last about eight months.

Other retail developments now under construction include the Warehouse Discount Center on Los Angeles Avenue, just east of the 23 Freeway interchange, which is expected to open this spring, and a center at the corner of Collins and Campus Park drives.

That center will include retail, restaurant, office and gas station services, according to the city.

The former Kmart site on Los Angeles Avenue was sold about a year ago, but no plans have been submitted for the site, according to a city official.