University expected to drive city's economy, job market in coming years
By Daniel Wolowicz camarillo@theacorn.com

Eddie and Tammy Washington

Eddie and Tammy Washington sat beside each other on a bench in the quiet, brick-lined courtyard situated at the heart of the California State University at Channel Islands campus.

The recently relocated newlyweds-both in their 30s-took a few minutes from their hectic schedules to talk about what brought them to Camarillo.

They said they moved to the area when Eddie was hired as associate vice president of human resources at the university in late July.

"There's such an energy that comes from the students," said Eddie, an attorney who worked for the California State Department of Fair Employment and Housing and as a trial lawyer with the Los Angeles County Public Defender's Office.

Shortly after he took his job, Tammy was hired as the director of human resources for the Camarillo Health Care District. Her resume includes a number of international companies, such as CB Richard Ellis and Hughes Space & Communications.

The Washingtons represent the growing pool of well-educated professionals who are coming to Camarillo to find work thanks in large part to the three-year-old university. Their arrival seems to signal an economic boon for the city, sparked by new job opportunities and a growing housing market.

The surge in job openings at the university is a virtual rebirth for the former California State Hospital. Built in the 1930s as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Works Project Administration program, the hospital became one of the area's first major employers.

Those jobs helped fuel a local economy that since the late 1800s had been primarily driven by agriculture. The hospital's closure in 1997, however, marked the end of an era. By the time the hospital closed, it was overshadowed in the job market by the nearby naval base, the rising number of high tech companies in Camarillo and the city's thriving retail market.

The picturesque campus is likely to again become one of the county's leading employers in the next 15 years as the student population grows from its current 2,300 to a projected 15,000.

To get an idea of what that might mean locally, California State University at Northridge, which draws around 30,000 students, generates nearly $700 million within Los Angeles County and accounts for about "12,000 jobs through direct employment or local spending," according to CSUN.

With less than 3,000 students, CSUCI has injected more than $100 million into the region, sustaining some 2,100 jobs in the past three years. Those numbers are expected to climb.

"Camarillo is growing," said Bill Watkins, a leading economist at UC Santa Barbara. "In part that's due to the university, for sure, because a lot of the growth you see is out in that direction."

Camarillo grew by 2.3 percent in 2005 and took the top spot as the fastest growing city in Ventura County, according to a report released in May by the California Department of Finance. The population bump was caused in large part by the Village at the Park housing development.

The 1,040-home community is less than five miles north of the university, where an additional 900 new homes are being built to house the university's faculty and staff. Both projects will include commercial and retail space.

It's the on-campus housing that is helping attract professionals like the Washingtons.

"Most people in Southern California, and I'm certainly one of them, are sick of commuting and sitting on the freeways for hours and hours," said Eddie. "Here you can walk to work, and be to work in a few minutes." Tammy said the oncampus housing made their move more affordable. "It was exciting because there was the thought of us starting new, and of us having a home," Tammy said.

Not only do jobs boost the local economy, the addition of more college educated students and postgraduate students to the community will be profitable.

"On average it holds true that income increases $10,000 per year for every degree a person earns over a lifetime," Charles Weis, Ventura County superintendent of schools, told CSUCI officials. "So the increased number of degrees that Ventura County residents will hold as a result of the university should help spur the economy and brighten the economic future for the whole county. That's a heck of a return on our investment in this university and in our future."