The Thousand Oaks City Council approved the first phase of the Downtown Project 5–0 on June 23, 2026. Most of the debate since then has centered on the homes, the hotel and the height. For anyone who drives to the Fred Kavli Theatre on a Saturday night, the plan's most useful detail is a smaller one. The two theaters are the only major pieces of Civic Arts Plaza the project treats as untouchable. The City Hall wing, the terrace, the garage entrance and the lawns all change around them.
Construction is anticipated to begin in 2027, so the fall and holiday lineup now on sale is likely the last full season under the current layout. The city's own timeline still has steps left before that happens.
Two theaters treated as fixed points
The project's Draft Environmental Impact Report describes Civic Arts Plaza as a 208,920-square-foot building that houses both the Performing Arts Center and City Hall. It proposes turning the whole complex into "a more vibrant, arts-focused civic space with improved public access and wayfinding." But the Performing Arts Center itself is carved out of that redevelopment in plain language:
"The Kavli Theatre (1,800 seats) and Scherr Forum (394 seats), which make up the Performing Arts Center, would remain unchanged and in operation during all phases of construction."
The plan keeps the theaters running through every phase, and it says project utilities are to be maintained so the theaters can operate with minimal interruption. Every other change on the site has to be built around a working 1,800-seat house and a 394-seat house that stay open.
The other changes are large. The Ventura County Star reported a city investment of roughly $150 million, with nearly $45 million already set aside in reserves and private investment in the mixed-use buildings and hotel expected to be at least $200 million.
What changes around the seats
Here is how the parts of the plaza visitors use today line up against the approved plan, based on the Draft EIR and the city's project page.
| Part of the site | Today | Under the Downtown Project |
|---|---|---|
| Fred Kavli Theatre and Scherr Forum | 1,800 and 394 seats | Unchanged, operating through all construction phases |
| Kavli Terrace | Split-level terrace | Replaced by a single-level plaza deck of about 22,400 square feet, with a grand staircase and public elevator down to the park level |
| City Hall | Administrative offices in the plaza building | About 48,000 square feet demolished, about 80,900 square feet newly built, west wing renovated and reused |
| Parking garage | Six levels, 760 spaces, entered from Thousand Oaks Boulevard via Dallas Drive | Same structure, with access moved to an Oakwood Drive extension |
| Boulevard frontage | Landscaped xeriscape lawns along the setback | A two-acre Carpenter Park with a multipurpose lawn, play and water features, seating and event infrastructure, plus an amphitheater lawn with terraced seating |
| Westside parcel across Dallas Drive | Three small commercial buildings along Thousand Oaks Boulevard and open land | 240 homes, a 142-room hotel and ground-floor retail and dining |
The westside parcel is not a blank lot. The EIR lists a smog-testing and auto-glass business and a landscaping business in those three buildings, along with vehicle and materials storage. Of the 240 homes planned there, 39 are designated low-income, which the Star described as one of the highest affordable percentages of any project in the city. The plan also adds about 28,000 square feet of commercial space, an indoor public market with food vendors, business and arts incubators, and a town square.
A short walk east, the two ponds and the playground north of The Lakes shopping center along Thousand Oaks Boulevard fall in a separate subarea of the plan. The EIR proposes no changes there.
The drive in moves to Oakwood Drive
Of everything in that table, the garage entrance will be the most noticeable change for regular show-goers. Today the six-level, 760-space structure is reached from Thousand Oaks Boulevard via Dallas Drive. It has 24 ADA stalls and three EV charging stalls. A single elevator serves levels two through six, with level two at Kavli Terrace. During events and performances, access is restricted and parking is paid.
Under the plan, the Dallas Drive connection is removed. Drivers will reach the garage through an Oakwood Drive extension off a new roundabout at Oakwood Drive and West Road. West Road, also new, connects directly to Thousand Oaks Boulevard. The EIR states that no improvements are proposed for the garage itself, though another section of the same document mentions rooftop photovoltaic carports. Until the plan is built, those two descriptions leave the garage roof an open question.
The garage elevator stops at the Kavli Terrace level, and that terrace is also being rebuilt as a single-level plaza deck, so both ends of the walk from car to lobby will change.
The season on the current layout
None of this affects the current calendar. The Bank of America Performing Arts Center lineup runs through the holidays under today's layout, Dallas Drive entrance included. As of the week this post publishes, these are the listed dates:
- Late October: Journey USA on Oct. 23; Dorrance Dance and a Tina Turner and Rod Stewart tribute on Oct. 24; UB40 on Oct. 25; CelloGayageum and Stewart Copeland on Oct. 28; Blippi on Oct. 29; and the My Generation Tour on Oct. 30.
- November: Derek Hough's Dance for the Holidays on Nov. 3; Dog Man: The Musical on Nov. 5; Don McLean on Nov. 6; Billy Nation and New West Symphony's Symphony Goes to Cirque on Nov. 7; Camerata Pacifica and the California Young Artist Symphony on Nov. 8; then more concerts, speakers and Nutcracker productions through Nov. 30.
- December: Mannheim Steamroller Christmas on Dec. 3; Home for the Holidays Dec. 4–5; New West Symphony's Too Hot to Handel: The Gospel Messiah on Dec. 5; Broadway's Hadestown Dec. 11–13; Rapunzel's Holiday Wish Dec. 11–27; Pacific Festival Ballet's The Nutcracker Dec. 18–20; An Irish Christmas on Dec. 23; and two more Nutcracker productions on Dec. 28 and Dec. 30.
Symphony Goes to Cirque is the Kavli booking to circle. It starts at 7 p.m. on Nov. 7, with conductor Michael Christie leading New West Symphony and aerial performers from Troupe Vertigo. The theater's pages note that dates, times and artists are subject to change, so check the listing before you leave home.
Where the timeline stands
The holiday calendar falls inside the stretch when the project picks its builder. Here is the order of events so far, along with the city's posted next step:
- June 2018: The council adopts the Downtown Core Master Plan, starting the effort to create a walkable 100-acre downtown.
- July 2025: The council chooses a hotel instead of a new city hall, saying the change would help the project sustain itself economically.
- June 23, 2026: The council votes 5–0 to approve first-phase entitlements, a 5.33-acre mixed-use designation and a new downtown district.
- Aug. 12, 2026: The referendum period closes. Citizens for Responsible Development in Thousand Oaks files a petition in Ventura County Superior Court asking for more time.
- Aug. 21, 2026: The city issues its request for qualifications for a master developer to build the private mixed-use phase. Public spaces and infrastructure will be handled separately.
- September 2026: The group drops its court challenge before the scheduled Sept. 14 hearing.
- Nov. 18, 2026: Developer qualifications are due, and the city's solicitation page anticipates a shortlist in November.
The opposition has not ended. The Acorn reported that the group collected 7,128 referendum signatures and dropped the case because it could not afford legal counsel. It plans to pursue state remedies and keep speaking at City Council meetings.
The finish date depends on the source. The city's project page anticipates construction starting in 2027 and finishing by 2032. The Star's July overview described phases beginning as early as mid-2027, with the last one finishing as early as 2034. Either way, the Kavli and the Scherr Forum are planned to stay open through every phase.
If you have questions about how the Downtown Project may affect your part of Thousand Oaks, from the new Oakwood Drive access to what's planned across Dallas Drive, Cris Epstein is glad to talk it through. Let's Connect.
