Council Advances Downtown Thousand Oaks Project: Authorizes Next Steps on Finance, Land Use and Surplus Lands

The Thousand Oaks City Council on June 24 advanced the Downtown Thousand Oaks project after a detailed study session and a live three‑dimensional fly‑through of the proposed site plan. Council members voted 5–0 to (1) authorize the city manager to begin discussions with other taxing entities about tax‑increment financing (EIFD/TIF), (2) initiate the necessary General Plan and specific‑plan amendments to change city‑owned land from institutional to mixed‑use, and (3) return with additional surplus‑land declarations under the Surplus Lands Act for portions of the site.

Deputy City Manager Akbar Alikhan introduced the project’s design evolution and community engagement history dating to 2018. Consultants from RRM, SmithGroup, and others led a live 3D fly‑through that showed the revised 2025 site plan. Key elements include a six‑story, 147‑room hotel with a rooftop deck; mixed‑use buildings with ground‑floor retail and residential above; a retooled civic center that retains theaters and introduces a new, accessible service…