CENTERS WILL GET FACE LIFTS; NEW LOOKS PLANNED FOR PLAZAS.

Byline: Sylvia L. Oliande Staff Writer

Once thought of as simply a bedroom community to some of the larger cities around it, Simi Valley is slowly becoming a force in commercial development.

Industry watchers said the city led all other county areas in commercial and industrial building last year - primarily because of the opening and construction of new shopping centers in the heart of the city and to the west.

But the new commercial centers have also brought increased competition to older malls, which are taking a look at themselves these days and finding ways to better compete with the new kids in town.

``People are funny - they're very curious animals,'' said Councilwoman Barbra Williamson. ``They don't want to go where they don't feel warm and fuzzy. People like to go where it's comfortable, where it has nice surroundings. (Centers) recognize that they have to put money back into their business to make it go.''

The University of California, Santa Barbara, Economic Forecast Project, which evaluates the health of Southern California economies, said the retail vacancy rate in Simi Valley is very small, 5.7 percent this year, up from 5 percent last year. Countywide, the rate is 6.2 percent.

But Mark Schniepp, director of the project, said shopping center owners are smart not to be resting on their laurels.

``Just because the vacancy rate is low doesn't mean you can relax,'' he said. ``Most of the larger retailers, when they enter the market, they want to build new rather than to go into existing old.''

City officials said two centers getting ready to undergo renovations are Sinaloa Plaza and Mountain Gate Plaza, both on Los Angeles Avenue.

Burnam Pacific officials, which manages Mountain Gate and nearby Simi Valley Plaza, would not return calls for comment.

Judi Lapin, senior vice president of marketing for Donahue Schrieber in Newport Beach, said that when the company acquired Sinaloa Plaza several years ago, it immediately targeted the center for improvements.

While the 20-year-old plaza has not suffered a high vacancy rate, she said plans were under way to boost the center's image and make it a more pleasant place to shop. On the list are new paint and landscaping.

``It's very important to maintain the value of the property, not only for the retailers but for the shopping experience for the community,'' Lapin said. ``If you don't keep it up, obviously the value of the property will deplete.''

That philosophy was also seen in the plans to revive Tapo Street, a shopping district that some said had grown outdated with time and inattention.

The city spent approximately $100,000 through its redevelopment agency to improve landscaping along Tapo south of Cochran Street and gave matching grants to property owners to fix up store facades.

Officials from Western Financial, which owns two shopping centers that have undergone extensive improvements on the street, would not comment for this article.

Williamson, who spearheaded the Tapo Street revitalization project, said she was most pleased with the progress at Tapo Plaza - a Western Financial property.

She said the revitalization is largely the result of increased shopping options brought by the two new centers going up in town, Simi at the Plaza, which includes a new Wal-Mart, and the Civic Center, which will include the city's first Starbucks.

``It's good because it breeds competition,'' she said. ``It breeds landowners and business people who say, I'd better get out there, or I'm going to be sitting on the curb and watching the parade go by.''

Lapin said that the plan for Sinaloa would likely have been completed regardless of the increased competition, but she agreed that older centers have to do all they can to keep up.

``Generally, we feel that any retail that comes into the Simi Valley area is only a positive,'' she said. ``Our assessment that leads us to proceed with renovation shows that we're in a very, very sound community.''

Retailers said that one of the best things the city can do to help them with their plans is to streamline the planning process.

They said that it is often difficult for a project to wind its way through the planning staff, the Planning Commission and finally the City Council - and it takes a long time to do so.

Brian Gabler, assistant city manager and director of economic development, said city officials have heard this concern before and are working to try and solve it.

The most efficient way they've found so far is establishing ad hoc committees made up of two City Council members and two Planning Commission members to review and address problems with the project before it gets too far into the process.

``The commercial centers existing are vital to the economic vitality of the community, and ensuring that they succeed and compete is important,'' he said. ``Anything we can do to help, including streamlining, we're willing to help out.''

The City Council also is considering expanding its redevelopment area to include sections of Los Angeles Avenue. That distinction would enable the council to extend its grant programs to shopping centers along that street.

To be considered for redevelopment, an area must have high vacancy rates, depreciated property values, or have defective design construction, inadequate size or inadequate parking.

Williamson said the city also is willing to put up funds to improve landscaping, pledging an additional $100,000 in funds to put plants and flowers in center medians and to improve landscaping near the railroad tracks above Los Angeles Avenue.

``We can't expect the businessman to go out and do this thing and have us not following right behind and doing the same thing,'' she said.

Schniepp said the success of a face lift will depend on which stores are attracted to the center once it's done. If popular stores or services do not move in, the center may still eventually lose to competition.

Still, he said the centers have nothing to lose and everything to gain in this good economy.

``It's the best time to be a retailer, but these things can be cyclical,'' Schniepp said. ``I'd say retailers should enjoy the time they have now.''

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2 Photos

PHOTO (1) Sinaloa Plaza, above, and Mountain Gate Plaza are both getting ready to undergo renovations in order to compete with newer malls.

Eric Grigorian/Special to the Daily News

(2--Color) The Sinaloa Plaza on Los Angeles Avenue will be getting new paint and landscaping.

Eric Grigorian/Special to the Daily News