Upgrades Along the 101

Agoura Hills in the Conejo Valley has hit its stride, as evident from the construction activity along the 101 freeway. “Agoura Hills is benefitting now because it has some of the rare, vacant land able to be built,” said Mike Tingus, a principal at real estate brokerage Lee & Associates-LA North/Ventura Inc. in Sherman Oaks. A stretch of Agoura Road on the 101’s southbound side is particularly busy. A 9-acre section will soon yield two Marriott International Inc. hotels – a TownePlace Suites and a Courtyard by Huntington Hotel Group of Irving, Texas. There’s also a sizeable LA Fitness developed by Selleck Development Group Inc. of Westlake Village. In addition, a building with about 4,000 square feet will soon rise nearby on Roadside Drive as either retail space or a restaurant in another Selleck project. “Right now, limited service (hotels) are a hot item,” Tingus said. “It’s (also) a great site for LA Fitness. The market is underserved for fitness facilities, and LA Fitness wanted to be in the area.” Industrial space – also a hot commodity due to the lack of it – will rise to the west of the hotels. Camarillo developer MTC Inc. is poised to begin constructing four R&D buildings, according to Tingus. Dale Poe Real Estate in Agoura Hills saw the demand for industrial when it finished and leased up the Agoura Business Center North with two new warehouses earlier this year, said President David Brody. “There seems to be larger demand for it (industrial space),” Brody explained. “There’s not a lot of it in Agoura Hills and in the Conejo Valley. Vacancy rates are low right now.” That low hit a record 3.4 percent vacancy rate in the first quarter in Agoura Hills, according to Lee & Associates. Dale Poe is also finishing up the nearby Agoura Summit with 20,000 square feet of retail space that can be subdivided and configured, Brody added. Office construction is also underway. Strategic Acquisitions Inc. is building two new creative office buildings for itself and other tenants – the first new offices built locally since the Westlake Park Place in Westlake Village finished up last year, said Jared Smits, a vice president with Lee & Associates. “Development is very hard out here because land prices are so high,” he said.