Historic Newbury Park school, property to get new lease on life with affordable housing units

Mike Harris, Ventura County Star
·4 min read
An artist's rendering shows the proposed mixed-use project that will preserve the historic Timber School and auditorium in Newbury Park.
An artist's rendering shows the proposed mixed-use project that will preserve the historic Timber School and auditorium in Newbury Park.

Newbury Park's historic Timber School will enter a new phase of life with the approval of a proposed development that will rehabilitate it and add rental housing and a hotel.

The Thousand Oaks City Council Tuesday night unanimously greenlighted the mixed-use project, including the 120-room hotel and 218 apartments to be built on the site of the now-vacant school. The apartments will include 26 affordable units.

The vacant school and an accompanying vacant historic auditorium will be preserved, rehabilitated and repurposed as part of the development, but won't be residences. The project site is a 9.67-acre parcel located at 1872 Newbury Road.

See what others are reading in related news:

The city's Planning Commission voted 4-0 Oct. 25 to recommend the City Council approve the development.

"I think there's a lot to like on this project," Councilman Al Adam said Tuesday night as the council voted 5-0 to greenlight it. "This is quite extensive from landmark preservation to proximity to the (city's) biohub, good design ... affordability.

"All good stuff," he added.

Tim Gallagher, a spokesman for the developer, Daylight Thousand Oaks, LLC, agreed, saying Wednesday that the project "has three major benefits for the community."

They are the restoration of the Timber School buildings, apartment housing for employees of the nearby biotech center anchored by Amgen, and hotel rooms for investors and other visitors to the center, he said.

The project will be developed in two construction phases, according to a staff report from Kelvin Parker, the city's community development director.

Phase one will include rehabilitation of the historic school and auditorium and construction of nine two- and three-story apartment buildings, comprising 218 units, including 26 apartments for low-income residents.

Phase two will include building a three-story, 120-room hotel.

The Thousand Oaks City Council approved a mixed-use development Tuesday night that includes a hotel and nine apartment buildings on the site of the historic Timber School and auditorium, which will be preserved and incorporated into the development.
The Thousand Oaks City Council approved a mixed-use development Tuesday night that includes a hotel and nine apartment buildings on the site of the historic Timber School and auditorium, which will be preserved and incorporated into the development.

The project will also include removing six protected oak trees and three California black walnut trees. In addition, the development will be allowed to encroach within the area of four protected California sycamore trees.

Thousand Oaks City Councilman Kevin McNamee said Tuesday night he supported the project but had doubts about the viability of a hotel there.

"I'm going to vote reluctantly in favor of this project because I think it's much needed," he said. "It's a beautiful project. (But) I don't know why you want to put in a boutique hotel when there are so many others in the area.

"But I leave that up to the market and the developer to decide if they feel they can put in a beautiful hotel that will attract people," McNamee said.

Several residents spoke in favor of the development during public comments.

"I think this a very good project that will bring a lot to the city of Thousand Oaks," said Jackson Piper, who lives in the unincorporated section of Newbury Park. "It will provide 218 (apartment) units, 26 of which will be affordable.

"I would prefer if there were additional affordable units, but I think as far as quality of projects that we have seen in Thousand Oaks, this is one of the top ones so far," he said.

But Mitchell Schwartz opposed the project, saying it will further erode the small town feel of Thousand Oaks.

"As a 28-year resident of Thousand Oaks and Newbury Park ... I hope that the City Council uses its powers to do the right thing and not let that happen," he said.

But with the council's approval, the project will now go through the permitting process with construction expected to begin in about a year, Gallagher said.

The Timber School was the first school in Newbury Park, built in 1889, according to the Conejo Valley Historical Society. Its name came from the area, which was then known as Timberville.

The structure was replaced in 1924 by a new, two-room Timber School, built in front of the old one, which was demolished in 1925. The adjacent auditorium was built in 1948, according to the society.

The two buildings were designated historic landmarks in 2004 by the Ventura County Cultural Heritage Board and the Thousand Oaks City Council, acting as the Thousand Oaks Cultural Heritage Board.

Mike Harris covers the East County cities of Moorpark, Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks, as well as transportation countywide. You can contact him at mike.harris@vcstar.com or 805-437-0323.

SUPPORT LOCAL JOURNALISM and get all the latest Moorpark, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, and transportation news from Star reporter Mike Harris. Get a digital subscription

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Historic Newbury Park school, property to get new lease on life