OFFICIALS BREAK GROUND ON MENTAL HEALTH FACILITY.

Byline: Eric Leach Staff Writer

Dole Foods owner David Murdock joined Ventura County officials Monday in breaking ground on a 22,000-square-foot complex to house and rehabilitate mentally ill patients.

Murdock is covering the entire cost of the project, estimated at about $4 million, and using his development company, Castle & Cooke Community Housing Inc., to build the complex, which will house 45 patients.

Known as Casa de Esperanza, the facility will be built on property leased from the county along Lewis Road near the site of the former Camarillo State Hospital.

Castle & Cooke will pay the county $2,500 a month to lease the land for Casa de Esperanza. Eventually, it will donate the complex to the county, which will pay all operating costs, estimated at hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.

Ventura County officials said the county has been struggling to meet the needs of the mentally ill since the state mental hospital was closed in 1997. The facility later became the campus of California State University, Channel Islands.

Murdock, an 81-year-old billionaire who lives near Lake Sherwood, said he would get personally involved with the new center, which will be located at 1750 Lewis Road. He said he would come to the home to speak with the residents and encourage them to garden to help them resume normal lives.

``I started out from just as humble a beginning as some of the people who will be occupying these quarters,'' Murdock said. ``At one time, I slept under a bush in Detroit, Mich., because I didn't have a job. I believe anything can be accomplished.

``I believe that almost all of them can be helped. It's something that needs to be done here, and I have the ability to do it,'' he said. ``I want to help those people realize that they are just as important as everyone else.''

Ventura County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Kathy Long said the facility would be a welcome addition to the county, whose mentally ill patients have suffered since the closure of the Camarillo hospital.

``There was no question, when it closed, families found their mentally ill without shelter and support services,'' Long said. ``We've been working to fill that gap ever since then. Providing housing has been difficult, and this is a huge step toward meeting that need.''

The groundbreaking was attended by about 100 people, including Long, and fellow Supervisors Judy Mikels and Linda Parks.

Murdock told the officials he would like to continue helping needy people in the area. ``One of our biggest needs is for abused women and children. I will try to contribute there, too.''

On Feb. 15, the county supervisors approved the plan for Murdock to lease 3.25 acres in the bucolic area off Lewis Road for Casa de Esperanza, which will contain 45 housing units expected to be completed later this year.

This will be part of a county mental health complex with two other residential facilities about a quarter-mile north of CSUCI.

``The reality is, there is a huge need in for (Murdock's project) in Ventura County,'' said Mikels, who was one of the officials who approached him with the idea. ``This project is extremely important to the county. With David's big heart and willingness, he's made this a reality far sooner than it could have happened otherwise.''

Eric Leach, [phone]

eric.leach(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

photo, map

Photo:

David Murdock, left, billionaire and owner of Dole Foods, looks at a rendering of the $4 million mental health facility he's building in Camarillo, at the groundbreaking Monday.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer

Map:

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