Creekside business park slated to open this fall

Despite a waning national economy, developers of the $47million Creekside Executive Center believe the high-end office park will attract white-collar firms from as far as the San Fernando Valley to Camarillo's business district.

"This is the Ferrari of the office market," said Richard Bright, managing director of the Camarillo offices of real estate firm CB Richard Ellis.

Bright said the freeway-facing property in the 4000 block of Mission Oaks Boulevard includes 13 free-standing buildings, ranging from 2,300 to 7,500 square feet, and a two-story office building with over 55,000 gross square feet of office space for lease.

CB Richard Ellis is handling the sales and leases for Arizonabased real estate developer Opus West Corp. The project is expected to open in the fall.

Nick Gregg, a senior vice president with CBRE, said a growing number of companies have been moving west from the pricey San Fernando Valley into Ventura County. Over the past five years, the trend has created a boom in construction of office space throughout much of the Conejo Valley.

The shrinking amount of undeveloped land and rising construction costs, however, have recently made the Conejo Valley an expensive market.

That westward movement has helped fuel Camarillo's office condo market. It's a market that may have reached saturation.

Due in large part to the subprime mortgage crisis, the national credit crunch and rising inflation, vacancy rates in Camarillo's newest office condos have climbed considerably.

In addition to the Creekside Executive Center, three other largescale office condo projects have been built in Camarillo since 2006. The developments include the 21unit Berkshire Corporate Center on Camarillo Ranch Road, the 41-unit Camarillo Corporate Plaza on Calle Tecate and the 14-unit Flynn Road Business Park on Flynn Road.

Vacancy rates for the three completed office condo developments hover around 70 percent.

Although those numbers seem to have investors thinking twice before they buy in Camarillo, the local office condo market isn't all doom and gloom.

Gregg said that despite current economic trends, a large number of small business service firms- accounting, legal and insurance companies- have been able to weather the slumping economy.

"Across the board, we're seeing the most interest from servicerelated companies," Gregg said.

Creekside Executive Center, he said, includes more than 18,000 square feet of space for medical use.

According to CBRE executives, it has become easier for small businesses to get loans to buy office space because banks have cut back on their home loans.

"Financing to purchase these condos is very easy," Gregg said. Gregg added that buying office space, as opposed to leasing, is a much better long-term investment.

"What happens is your rental rates are going to increase at 3 percent per year," Gregg said. "Your mortgage payment is going to say fairly level. (The costs) cross at year six or seven."

For smaller companies, office condos between 1,500 and 2,000 square feet have proven the most popular- a fact not lost on the developers of Creekside Executive Center.

Each of the development's 13 office condos can be divided into two. Gregg said a company can buy a building and lease half of it, leaving the company room to grow while generating income with a lease.

With rising gas prices, he said, more company heads want to shorten their commutes by moving their businesses closer to home.

"We are getting a lot of attention from people who are looking to shorten their commute," Gregg said.

As Camarillo continues to work on bringing two major housing developments to the city in the next five years, a larger number of executives may be looking for local office space.

Office condo developers believe those new tenants will help reduce office vacancies in Camarillo.

Prices for the office condos range between $1.5 million and $900,000 depending on the size of the building.

For more details about the Creekside Executive Center, call (805) 465-1638 or visit creeksideexecutive.com.