Shannon Gerhardt, who will walk down the aisle in September, was glad Wisteria Bridal caught her eye driving down Thousand Oaks Boulevard. The high-end bridal boutique has only been open a month, but Gerhardt has already purchased two dresses to wear at bridal functions from the store’s casual dress line – and a dress for her flower girl to wear on the big day. “I wish it had been open a little earlier, because I had already bought my wedding dress,” she said. “Otherwise, I would have gotten my dress here.” Still, city officials would be pleased. Capturing the appeal of passersby and boosting revenue is just what the city had in mind when it decided to give Thousand Oaks Boulevard a facelift about three years ago. It adopted a plan in October 2011 to revitalize the neighborhood and create a pedestrian-friendly stretch between Duesenberg Drive and Moorpark Road. The plan also encouraged shops to improve their facades and loosened zoning to allow mixed-use projects with residential units. The project area is within the Thousand Oaks Business Improvement District, which comprises 220 property owners. There are 21 projects – either renovations or new construction – that have been planned, are underway or completed since the specific plan was adopted, according to the district. For example, Starbucks Corp. took advantage of a new rule under the plan that allows drive-thru restaurants and built a store with one that opened in March of last year. Jeff Albee, executive vice president at commercial real estate brokerage Sperry Van Ness, said the initiative is comparable to State Street in Santa Barbara, where the city is upgrading the streetscape and fostering business improvement. “They want tax dollars, and the property owners also want business. The only way that happens is organized growth, and that’s what this specific plan is trying to address,” he said. Still, he noted, it’s not on the scale of Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, which has become a regional draw Full menu Vince Restivo is owner of Vitello’s Trattoria, which opened in September 2010 just as the specific plan was being discussed. So he designed his Italian eatery in anticipation of the plan, which encourages storefronts close to the street and parking in the rear to promote pedestrian traffic. For about 30 years, Restivo and his family were the former owners of Vitello’s in Studio City, which has been a fixture in that community since the 1960s. Now the two locations are independently owned, but Restivo intends for the Thousand Oaks location to someday become just as big a hot-spot. “People shouldn’t have to go to Santa Monica or Camarillo on their days off,” Restivo said. “We just really want Thousand Oaks Boulevard to be a place where residents will want to stay and spend all day.” Restivo said his revenue has been improving over the last few years, though he would not disclose exact sales figures. And while there is some concern in the community about all the development, Restivo doesn’t mind at all. “For me, I think construction is a good thing,” he said. “Because people have to slow down and look and it will allow more people to see we are here.” The Business Improvement District estimates about 400 jobs have been created so far as a result of the plan. That – along with an improving economy – has helped a bit to push the city’s unemployment rate down to 7.8 percent last year from 10.9 percent in 2010, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. “We are seeing the fruits of the labor,” said Councilman Joel Price. “Even just directly across from City Hall, there are a couple of shopping centers that were looking aged, and now they’re beautiful and attracting new tenants.” The biggest ongoing debate over the specific plan continues to be whether the city should permit housing along the corridor. So far only one residential proposal has been submitted to the city, a 51-unit building on the boulevard, according to officials. Jeff Alexander, the general manager of Carlson Building Materials on Thousand Oaks Boulevard, said he likes the façade updates the plan has spurred but has questions about the residential projects. “What I have seen, along with other businesses in this community, is that residents do not want to live next to businesses,” he said. “Just because these property owners say, ‘We’ll develop a piece of property,’ doesn’t mean that is going to change. It’s totally contrary to what the residents of this community have said for a lot of years.” Residential woes However, the Business Improvement District has been largely in favor of the proposed changes, according to Rick Principe, chairman of the group. He expects even more growth in the coming years. “In the next three to five years, you’re going to be able to see some significant changes, all for the goal of making the area more pedestrian friendly and attractive,” he said. Wisteria Bridal owners Carisa Thompson and Karli Adkins, both 24 and Thousand Oaks natives, snagged a spot in a newly constructed building, finished earlier this year. Wisteria’s rent is between $3 and $3.50 a square foot – expectedly higher than Conejo Valley averages – which are about $2.25 a square foot, according to the L.A. office of Colliers International. They hoped the prime boulevard location would give the shop the most visibility. It was also a spot where they thought there would be a market for their expensive wedding dresses, which are priced at $2,000 and up. “Thousand Oaks Boulevard has completely turned around,” Thompson said. “We moved into a beautiful new building, so we’re the very first tenants. We don’t want people driving up to an ugly street or building.”
