COMPANY GETS LAND FOR MOORPARK MOVE.

Byline: Alicia Doyle Daily News Staff Writer

Escrow closed on a $2.5 million land deal this week, the last major step needed for a $20 million project that could bring up to 500 jobs to Moorpark.

Special Devices Inc. has purchased nearly 300 acres just east of the Moorpark Freeway at New Los Angeles Avenue, officials with Crocker DiMeo Realty announced Wednesday.

All that remains is for the city to approve SDI's grading permit for the raw land before the first stage of construction begins, said SDI project manager Ed Ball.

``We're tying up all the loose ends that need to be tied to start,'' Ball said. ``Everybody is excited - the city is excited, SDI is excited. It's just a matter of time before we break ground.''

A leading manufacturer of parts for air bags, SDI will relocate its corporate headquarters, research and shipping operations from Newhall, where the operation has been located since 1960.

The company plans to be in full operation by late 1997, said Michael DiMeo of Crocker DiMeo Realty.

Nelson Miller, Moorpark's director of community development, said this week's land deal is a major step for a project that the city has worked toward for a long time.

``The city has expended a tremendous amount of effort - giving them (SDI) incentives, helping them through processing with other agencies,'' Miller said.

After long negotiations, city officials approved the project this summer. Now that the project is under way, city officials see SDI as ``a benefit to the city,'' said Steve Kueny, city manager.

``That's the same way we've felt all along,'' Kueny said.

Should SDI's permits be approved as anticipated, grading on the raw land will begin within the next two weeks and take from six to eight months to complete depending on the weather, Ball said. Construction will take an additional six months after grading.

With a multimillion-dollar payroll supporting hundreds of employees, SDI is expected to cause a significant rise in Moorpark's revenue, DiMeo said.

``I see this as being a boom for the city of Moorpark,'' said DiMeo.

In addition to bringing jobs to the city, employees will use Moorpark's gas stations, restaurants and other local services. The company also is expected to utilize Moorpark's support services, such as electricians, janitorial services and supplies, said DiMeo.

Moorpark was picked as a relocation site to keep the company's headquarters in Southern California, said Ball. Moorpark also has enough land to accommodate the company's needs, and is close to where key employees live.

SDI had considered relocating to Mesa, Ariz., but through the efforts of California's Red Team for economic retention - made up of the state's Trade and Commerce Agency, the Department of Transportation and several county and local agencies - SDI was persuaded to stay in California.

The company manufactures air-bag initiators - pyrotechnic devices that set off the bags. Similar devices are manufactured for the aerospace industry for use in missiles and military crew escape systems.

SDI, which employs about 450 people in Placerita Canyon and an added 550 in Mesa, shipped 13.5 million air-bag initiators in 1995, and expects to sell about 17.5 million this year, officials said.