Workers in several construction vehicles kicked up dirt Friday to prepare the site of a future 385-unit apartment complex in Camarillo.
Above-ground work hasn't started on the 14 buildings planned for a vacant lot at the southeast corner of Verdugo Way and Camino Ruiz. The structures will vary from three to four stories on the 14.17-acre site, according to a staff report from 2021, when planning commissioners approved the project.
The complex is being developed by Fairfield Camino Ruiz, a limited liability company affiliated with San Diego-based Fairfield Residential Co. Signs on the property's fence advertise studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments. Fairfield Residential did not return requests for comment.
The complex — Calixa Apartment Homes, 5176 Verdugo Way — is expected to open in 2025, according to the company's website, fairfieldresidential.com.
The apartments will include 40 affordable units, half of which will be for very low-income households, the staff report said. In Ventura County, where the median income for a family of four is $125,600, according to the California Department of Housing and Community Development, a four-person household earning up to $70,350 would qualify as very low income.
Parking would consist of garages, carports and uncovered spaces.
Other amenities vary from a pool and gym to a central park with barbecues and dog park, according to the report.
What was on the Camarillo property before?
The site was developed during the early 1980s with two buildings, which Unisys Corp. used for technological support services for Port Hueneme military operations until the mid-1990s, according to the city's staff report. Afterward, Anthem Blue Cross occupied the site until 2012. The buildings were empty until torn down in 2018.
Today, the vacant lot stands out in an area of residential, commercial and light industrial buildings, separated by grassy strips and tall trees. The Camarillo Planning Commission green-lighted the apartments in 2021 after the City Council paved the way with zone changes in 2020.
The new complex is expected to encourage more economic investment in the area, Camarillo spokeswoman Michelle Glueckert D'Anna said.
The property is near the Plaza at Mission Oaks shopping center, Roxy Stadium 11 movie theater and Sonesta Select hotel, all of which are on Verdugo Way. The sites were developed as part of a tract in the 1980s and '90s, D'Anna said.
Across from the future apartments on Camino Ruiz are the Teso Robles Townhomes, built in 2019.
The new project will include a third park with a publicly accessible walking and jogging path, D'Anna said.
Plans call for preserving 94 mature trees on three sides of the site, the report notes.
An environmental impact report found traffic was the project's only potentially significant impact due to more vehicles at Camino Ruiz and Verdugo Way. The intersection currently only has stop signs on Camino Ruiz.
Fairfield Camino Ruiz LLC must install a traffic light at the intersection before the city determines the bulk of the apartments are cleared for occupancy, according to the staff report. The council on July 10 tied the knot on a longstanding agreement with developers for $205,000 that will help pay for the traffic light.
Dave Mason covers East County for the Ventura County Star. He can be reached atdave.mason@vcstar.com or 805-437-0232.
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