County eyeing vacant Farmers building in Simi Valley

Aug. 19--SIMI VALLEY, Calif. -- Ventura County is considering buying the former Farmers Insurance building in Simi Valley -- the largest vacant office space in the county -- to consolidate its east county operations.

The 240,000-square-foot building has been empty for about 2 1/2 years since Farmers transferred about 1,200 employees to its Woodland Hills office 16 miles away.

The five-story building at 3041 Cochran St. is owned by New York-based Capital Lease Funding Inc. Farmers is locked into a lease there until early 2017.

The insurance giant and Simi Valley have been looking for a new tenant or tenants with no success.

County Chief Financial Officer Paul Derse said Tuesday the county is considering consolidating its east county operations at one site if it makes financial sense. The county is eyeing a number of buildings in the area, including the former Farmers building, to possibly purchase one, Derse said.

It would primarily house the Human Services Agency, but also the Behavorial Health Department and perhaps Supervisor Peter Foy's office, he said. Most of the east county operations, about 80,000 square feet, are in Simi Valley, he said.

"We're still in the early evaluation phases," Derse said. "Simi right now appears to have the most available space that would be our size."

Derse said the county bid approximately $13 million this year for the 120,000-square-foot Seventh-day Adventist Church Media Center building at 101 W. Cochran St. in Simi Valley, but withdrew because of various factors, including projected upgrade costs.

Derse conceded the sheer size of the former Farmers building, which county officials toured in the spring, is a concern.

"Frankly, it's huge," he said. "That's just too big for our needs in the area. We're looking at about 120,000 square feet that we can use. It would take significant dollars to upgrade it and that's part of our overall evaluation."

Derse said the county could potentially shutter some of the building's floors, "but the price would have to be such a steal that it would make sense. And we're not seeing that right now."

Foy's chief of staff, Brian Miller, said it has been difficult to find a buyer for the building because of its size.

"And the county really is the only one that has the ability to come in at this point that I've seen and look at occupying even a good portion of it," he said.

Miller suggested the county could buy the building with an eye toward it accommodating future office space needs. In the meantime, the county could lease the floors it wouldn't need to other parties.

"Obviously, this is too much building for us, but we could have some discussions to kind of talk about what is our strategic plan going to be in the future for growth in our county?" he said. "And would this meet those needs?"

Officials have another incentive to find a new occupant for the building.

Farmer's had been the city's second-largest private employer. Nearby retail businesses suffered with the loss of hundreds of Farmers employees who used to be customers.

Derse said the county recently renegotiated one-year leases for its east county facilities and thus is in no rush to buy office space.

"But we're constantly looking," he said.

___

(c)2014 Ventura County Star (Camarillo, Calif.)

Visit Ventura County Star (Camarillo, Calif.) at www.vcstar.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services