Ventura County Office Vacancies on Decline

A new survey of eastern Ventura County office space shows vacancies were at 10% at the end of 1994, down from 17% a year ago.

Officials at Westcord/Westoaks Commercial Group, a Westlake commercial realty company that did the study, said this marked the Conejo Valley’s tightest office market in a decade. The reason cited is the continued flight of businesses from Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley after the Northridge earthquake, Westcord/Westoaks said.

The highest vacancy rate was in Newbury Park at 42%, while Agoura posted the lowest at 3%. Vacancy rates for the other communities were: Calabasas, 12%; Westlake, 9%, and Thousand Oaks, 11%. Newbury Park’s high vacancies were blamed on Northrop Corp.’s move from the city three years ago. The aerospace company’s departure left a 140,000-square-foot office building without a tenant.