AS EACH STEEL GIRDER is put in place at the new building under construction at 60. S. California, Dan Frederickson's dream for Downtown Ventura comes a little closer to fruition.
Frederickson and his partners -- wife CiCie along with Paul and Natalie Orfalea -- are excited and relieved to have the project finally come together, Frederickson said. Most will remember the Orfaleas and Fredericksons from their association with another very successful Ventura-based enterprise -- Kinko's. Orfalea was the founder and Frederickson was president. The company was sold in 2004 to the FedEx Corporation.
Their latest Ventura enterprise will house more than 20,000 square feet of prime office and retail space. Small businesses will occupy the upper floors and retail space will be leased at the bottom; the top two floors will have ocean views. Frederickson will announce the bottom-floor tenants shortly.
Why a five-story office building Downtown? "It's basically to serve as an example for the type of development that I would like to see Downtown," Frederickson said. "It's for businesses who want to be Downtown and feel the Downtown culture and aesthetic."
Frederickson and his wife also make Downtown their home, as such he's been a big booster of the area and wins high praise from Ventura's Mayor Christy Weir. They are both founders of the Downtown Ventura Organization. "He's just a great guy," Weir said. "Dan has been a really positive influence Downtown. He is bringing Class A office space that will really contribute not only to the architectural beauty of the area but also to the economic vitality by bringing space for high-wage jobs."
As part of the project, a unique partnership was developed between the city and Frederickson. The project needed parking and Frederickson will lease 55-57 spaces for his tenants over a 25-year period from the city. A bridge from his building to the adjacent parking structure is being built. "This is proving to be the first attempt to generate significant revenue to the city for public parking," he said.
WORKING WITH CITY HALL on the project has sometimes been challenging, said Frederickson, who is known for his straightforward and outspoken manner. "The planning process was horrible, with little communication and little support from the Planning Department. It took about five years to get the permit to build," he said. "Some of the time was due to the changing Downtown Plan and modifications to the original design.
"Very simply, the city needs to proactively support and help expedite the development that the community wants."
But, he was careful to add, "Since my building has been approved, the city's been fantastic. Building and Safety have been supportive and very solutions-oriented to the problems that you are faced with when you build in a downtown. The building will be completed on time and on budget in no small part to their help and assistance."
Frederickson is a guy who gets things done. Recognizing the area's issues with the chronically homeless who are often alcoholics, he and his business partners put up the seed money to provide consulting to determine how and if Ventura could develop a "Sober Center." This idea is evolving into a network of Sober Centers around the county.
The busy real estate developer and his partners in OFFCO, LLC are also working on other projects. They own the Alessandro Business Plaza at 101 and Seaward in Ventura and are completing an office/medical park in Osage Beach, Mo. at the Lake of the Ozarks.
If all goes well, construction on the California Street building will be completed by November, Frederickson said. "I hope that the building adds to the continued success of our Downtown."
A guy who tells it like it is. Go Dan!
Dan is saying things some of the same things that some candidates for City Council were saying in the last election regarding the City's cumbersome/obstructive development review process.
Thanks for your forthrightness and holding City Hall's feet to the fire, Dan.
Dan is a great asset to the City and to Downtown.
I admire and value his opinions, the courage to state his views, and his focused tenacity to make them a reality, in spite of the slow process in Planning at City Hall.
Additionally, by his giving back, and the giving a hand up to our Homeless population, he's earned my respect.
Kudos !
Yes, Dan seems like a real fighter. The "gang in the ivory tower" can't squelch his spirit.
Why would they want to? He's bringing jobs downtown.
Because they're anti-development, Skip. Their development review policies and procedures send a clear message to the business and development community. If you want to build in Ventura, we're going to make it damn hard for you. The word is out on this.
You are really overstating things. Are there a lot of hoops to jump through? Yes. Was the planning staff short handed for a long time? Yes.
Of course right now we have almost no development because of the economy. So I'm glad we have folks like the Fredericksons and the Orfaleas who have the means to get these projects off the ground.
Is the Planning Department pretty much fully staffed now? Yes. Is the process still as slow as molasses? Yes.
I have a good friend who submitted an applicaion for a patio cover 6 weeks ago and he's still waiting to hear back from Planning? What in God's great name is up with that?
Hi,
I live in the County and work mostly in Simi area as a Contractor I do get up here from time to time and do work. The time spent working on getting a job finished is so long I almost refuse to bid jobs there.
Over staffed Planning Division and Building Inspectors that are also Fire Dept... Planning running around there worrying if a window box with flowers in it will cross pollinate from one flower to another then making a new colored flower, of course not an approved color in the window box attached to the front of a building then Inspectors worrying if the box will fall off the wall pulling the building to the ground and starting a fire. So we have a little flower box with a 4 feet by 4 feet foundation attached to steel posts to a steel flower box not allowed to attach to the building with automatic fire sprinklers and a water curtain. It is now five feet from the building now because it was classed by planning as another building on the same property and plastic dividers between the pansy flowers so we do not get another color than that approved by Planning and the building will not be pulled to the ground and start a fire because the new structure on the property is now protected with fire sprinklers and a water curtain. A $500 job is now a $16,000 job.