SIMI RETAIL PROJECT TAKING OFF; FIRST PHASE, COCHRAN STREET EXTENSION TO OPEN.

Byline: Sylvia L. Oliande Daily News Staff Writer

A collection of big-box commercial buildings has seemingly risen from the soil near the junction of the Ronald Reagan Freeway and Madera Road.

They bring with them a long-anticipated east-west thoroughfare on the south side of the freeway, as well as fulfilling - for now - the city's quest to build a stronger tax base through retail development.

Portions of the project and the Cochran Street extension that was built to serve it are slated to be opened before Friday, a deadline that the developer was scrambling this weekend to meet.

``It's my Christmas present to the city,'' developer Stanley Rothbart said of the scheduled road opening.

The Cochran Street extension will serve not only the project, but allow traffic to get from First Street to Madera without drivers having to get on Los Angeles Avenue or onto the freeway.

Office Depot, a store in the first phase of the $50 million project, is expected to open by Thursday, along with the road.

Wal-Mart and Home Depot are slated to be next with a late February, early March debut; and Petsmart would open at a later date.

Rothbart said he hopes that the second phase of the project, which includes several restaurants and a gas station, can be ready for a July opening.

Finally, two yet-unnamed stores would be ready to debut by fall 1999. In all, the project is expected to include 360,000 square feet of retail space on more than 250 acres of land. Construction began in March.

City officials praised the development, for the $1 million in sales tax it is expected to generate when it's fully open and for the infusion of commercial activity in a city that has a dearth of retail options.

``The primary thing is being able to give the citizens of this city a shopping area that we have not had previously, which is certainly important,'' said Mayor Bill Davis. ``We have a Home Base, but we don't have a Home Depot and there's a tremendous difference between them. We'll have an Office Depot and there's differences between that and Staples. It makes each one of them competitive.''

City officials and the developer also recalled the work it took to ensure that the mega stores looked nice and not, well, boxy. There was concern, also, that the stores would have to be well-dressed on all sides since all four walls will be plainly in view.

The result is a Mediterranean-themed plaza, with muted colors, unique light standards, trestles and an overall architecture that the developer said will surprise people because it is not what is normally pictured when describing a big box store.

``Architecture, as in art and music, is personal,'' Rothbart said. ``It's difficult to forecast that everybody will like it. I do believe however that it's very tastefully done. The majority will find it not only pleasing but dynamic for this type of a project.''

Some city officials who have long wanted to bring a full-fledged indoor shopping mall to the city said the center is not exactly that, but it'll do for now.

Better still, the development is expected to open the door to interest in building that mall, which city officials hope will be built on a piece of land north of the freeway between First Street and Erringer Road reserved for just that purpose.

Davis said that in his talks with higher-end department stores and retailers, he was surprised to find that they are more interested in putting their stores in areas already populated with big box retailers.

One reason was that department stores that anchor malls enjoy the benefits of the traffic other retailers bring.

``What the normal person like myself would say is a detriment, is not,'' he said. ``It's a positive.''

Rothbart concurred, saying that some retailers like to move into areas that have already been tested by their competition.

``Just watch,'' he said. ``This is the precursor to other retailers seeing the potential in the area. When retailers of the magnitude of Wal-Mart and the rest - guys at the top of their categories - do well, it just opens the eyes of other retailers.''

Still, not everyone is pleased with that. Several small businesses have expressed concern that the large retailers will take over. But supporters point to studies that show that the new businesses would work to enhance smaller business by giving shoppers a reason to stay and spend in Simi Valley.

The development also paves the way, literally, for the city to get its long-planned uninterrupted artery from one end of the city to the other just south of the freeway. The developer put in a $5.5 million road that connects Madera Road to First Street along Cochran.

The street had ended just west of the Simi Valley Unified School District headquarters, but will now allow through traffic.

``All you had was Los Angeles Avenue or freeway, that's it,'' Davis said. ``I personally would rather stay on streets if I possibly can. I'm not a freeway-type person. Obviously I do it, but I'd rather be on a local street.''

Although the developer paid to build the extension, the city will purchase it for $1.6 million and maintain it as a public road. Officials went a step toward doing that last week when it approved the collateral for a federal Housing and Urban Development loan for the purchase price.