OXNARD, CA-Channel Islands Building & Development Partners of Oxnard has acquired an industrial building formerly occupied by the Oxnard Press Courier and plans to convert the property to 54 condominium lofts in a $20-million redevelopment, according to Sperry Van Ness. According to Mark Haworth of Sperry Van Ness in Ventura, the buyer paid nearly $3.2 million for the 53,275-sf former newspaper facility, which is situated on nearly 2.2 acres at 300 W. Ninth St. in Downtown Oxnard.

Haworth, who represented seller Argonaut Investments of Corte Madera, says that the deal will turn an obsolete industrial building into an adaptive reuse project in a redevelopment district which is undergoing a revitalization. Built in 1958 and renovated in 1992, the property served as the print facility and editorial offices for the Oxnard Press Courier Newspaper, which ceased operations in 1994.

The 300 W. Ninth St. building is now being leased for general office and warehouse use. The current tenancy began June 1998 and will terminate in October 2008. The project schedule anticipates approvals from the City of Oxnard in March 2008 and completion of construction in January 2010.

According to Dave O. White Jr., principal with Channel Islands Building & Development Partners Inc., the renovation plans will maintain the integrity of the existing building. The Press Courier Lofts will include rooftop decks, exposed ceilings and on-site parking, with most of the units to feature separate enclosed two-car garages.

White says that Channel Islands Building & Development has been seeking urban infill projects in the Oxnard area, such as Press Courier Lofts, because the demand for housing in the city's urban core continues to rise. As in other urban areas where buyers are seeking homes close to jobs, retail, entertainment and transit, White says that the Press Courier Lofts will be designed to provide a "live, work, play" environment.

Channel Islands is also redeveloping Oxnard Art Lofts, an 18-unit work/live industrial condominium development, which is also an adaptive reuse of an existing obsolete industrial building. The Oxnard Art Lofts project is at 2201 Statham Blvd.

The City of Oxnard is actively pursuing infill developments within its Downtown commercial business district. The district includes the new Plaza Cinemas 14-screen theater at Centennial Plaza, across the street from historic Plaza Park, the historic town square of Oxnard.