CSU TO PURSUE HOSPITAL AS CAMPUS LOCATION.

Byline: Christopher Noxon Daily News Staff Writer

Cal State University trustees will make a pitch to turn Camarillo State Hospital into a long-awaited state university, joining a field of public officials already eyeing the sprawling 750-acre site.

Planners from Cal State University will meet Monday with a governor-appointed committee to discuss converting the 60-year-old mental hospital into the newly named CSU Channel Islands. Previous plans called for the campus to be built in a nearby lemon orchard, but officials say that acquiring the hospital may present a cheaper, more creative solution.

``Because of the economics of the state and basic business sense, we're looking at all the alternatives available,'' said Martha Fallgatter, chairwoman of the CSU board of trustees. ``We need to look at all the information available and go from there.''

University planners say building a university from the ground up would cost $80 million to $160 million. The conversion would cost about half that, a formula put to the test last year in Monterey Bay, where the Fort Ord Army base was refurbished as the newest CSU campus. Heavily involved in that project was J. Handel Evans, who was appointed acting president of the Ventura County university in February.

``The question is whether the trustees want to slowly build a traditional campus or take over the hospital site and rapidly convert it,'' said CSU trustee spokeswoman Karen Young.

The hospital is set to close next year in a cost-cutting measure ordered by Gov. Pete Wilson, emptying the 85 Spanish-style buildings and displacing about 700 patients to hospitals and community centers across the state. While hospital supporters have attempted to save the facility, private health care providers and corrections officials have looked at the vacancy as a potential opportunity.

Centered around a tree-lined walking mall, hospital buildings are marked by red tile and stucco and surrounded by more than 600 acres of agricultural land. The facility includes a fire station, power plant, restaurant, bowling alley and swimming pools.

Other institutions have been quick to voice interest in taking over.

The California Youth Authority and the Ventura County Corrections Services Agency have looked at the property, said Ventura County Supervisor Frank Schillo, a member of the task force studying alternative uses for the site.

The university proposal faces competition from others under consideration, Schillo said.

``We want to develop a lot of choices from which we can choose the best to make a recommendation to the governor,'' Schillo said.

One possible applicant is the Ventura County Corrections Services Agency, which has begun planning on a $20 million juvenile justice complex. But according to Deputy Director Cal Remington, the hospital itself is probably too big for the proposed center. But corrections officials say they hope to build the center on part of the east Camarillo property.

``The land would be an ideal site,'' said Remington. ``We have hoped the opportunity would come along that we could perhaps get a long-term lease.''

Some who have toured the expansive grounds say converting it will be a daunting undertaking for whoever secures the rights to it.

``There's no doubt it would take an awful lot of work and an awful lot of money,'' said Camarillo City Councilman Ken Gose. ``When you start taking over old buildings, you can run into a tremendous amount of problems.''

Many local residents are hopeful the university will win out, Gose said.