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Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Snyder Proposes Big Office Project On Controversial Agoura Hills Site

A plan to develop an office center on an Agoura Hills site that has seen a number of proposed developments come and go seems to have captured the interest of city officials, at least initially. According to the proposal currently under discussion, J.H. Snyder Co. would build a 400,000-square-foot office park on a 31-acre site off the Kanan Road exit to the Ventura (101) Freeway. The project is one of six developments included in the recently announced joint venture between Snyder and Lexington Commercial Holdings Inc., the Beverly Hills real estate company that would be Snyder’s financial partner in the project. City officials and executives at Snyder, which entered into escrow on the site early this year, cautioned that the discussions are very preliminary and no formal plans have yet been submitted. But city officials added that the project looks promising. “At this point it would appear that the folks with Snyder have listened to the input and are proposing something that would be very compatible not only with the community, but with the topography of the area as well,” said Jeff Reinhardt, an Agoura Hills city councilman. The city has held discussions with potential developers of the site over a 10-year period. Most of the earlier plans have involved retail developments that never made it to the formal application process. The Snyder plan marks the first time an office project has been proposed for the site, Reinhardt said. Cliff Goldstein, a partner at Snyder Co. said the office sector is on an upswing. “The office market dropped off during the early ’90s, but now we see an opportunity for additional supply, so we’re ramping up our interest in developing more office and seeing more opportunities that are out there,” Goldstein said. The city of Agoura Hills has zealously guarded both its quality of life and its environment, and developing the site has raised red flags on both those counts in the past. The parcel abuts a residential area as well as a park, and it sits on a hillside with streams and some wetlands. Reinhardt said the initial drawings that have been presented for the development incorporate Craftsman-style architecture. The low-rise buildings are surrounded by ample park-like space and well-landscaped parking areas. Goldstein said the company is currently working on a proposal that it will formally present to the community and city officials. No date has yet been established for that presentation.

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