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CITY OF THOUSAND OAKS POSITIONS ITSELF FOR BIOTECH ITSELF FOR BIOTECH EXPANSION EXPANSION
Feature Article:
Over the past several years, the City of Thousand Oaks has focused on developing a biotechnology hub in the Rancho Conejo Industrial area.
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The endeavor is guided by the City’s Economic Development Strategic Plan (EDSP), adopted by City Council in 2017. The effort has helped to encourage the creative reuse of aging industrial properties and facilitate new biotech-focused construction in Thousand Oaks.
Since the adoption of the EDSP in 2017, the City has worked with key players like Sares Regis Group, HatchSpaces, Westlake BioPartners and Alexandria Real Estate Equities to help ready more than 316,000 square feet for wet lab or R&D space to accommodate this growing sector in Thousand Oaks. Additional similar projects are currently making their way through the various stages of the City’s planning process.
The City’s responsiveness and agility to industry-unique needs, including thoughtful adaptations to City code to better reflect recent and rapid advancements in biotech, has earned Thousand Oaks a favorable reputation across the industry as forward-thinking and a great place to do business.
“The life sciences have never been more critical to our society,” said Mayor Claudia Bill-de la Peña. “We are indeed entering the ‘Golden Age of Biotechnology’ and with our strategic focus and investments from our local biotech companies, we could not be better positioned to grow these types of innovative therapies locally. I feel proud and fortunate to have successful biotech companies like Amgen, Atara, and Takeda in our community. We’re now poised to grow the next generation of treatments thanks to these startup investments and new incubator lab spaces.”
The growing presence of biotechnology companies in Thousand Oaks is excellent news for the City and the broader region. Biotech’s increasing local presence means more high-paying manufacturing jobs; an industry sector that experienced a 14.3% decrease in jobs between 2007 and 2019 across Ventura County. In Thousand Oaks, the biotech industry now accounts for about 15% of all jobs in the City, a figure poised to continue to rise.
In addition, the economic benefits of biotech’s burgeoning local presence are expected to extend to other local industries as business and personal demand for goods and services grows. The biotech industry’s array of supply chain needs present new potential opportunities for other locally-based manufacturers (especially in the post-COVID era where many manufacturers are exploring ways to minimize supply chain disruption by localizing their supply chains). Biotech’s growing local presence also means more business-related travel to the area and a greater number of employees to support our local hotels, restaurants, personal service and other business establishments. In sum, biotech’s ongoing expansion in Thousand Oaks means a boost in local jobs and economic activity across a wide range of industries and throughout our community.
The future is looking bright for Thousand Oaks, but realizing this prospective future requires fastidious forethought and planning at the City-level. This includes addressing a multitude of interrelated issues to foster economic vitality and sustainability. A vibrant and sustainable local economy is critical for preserving and enhancing our quality of life in Thousand Oaks.
True quality of life is comprised of three key ingredients- the environment, jobs, and housing. When in balance, a vast majority of residents are able to live relatively close to their job and enjoy the natural beauty of their surroundings. Today, there is a stark economic reality for many individuals and families in our area, they are unable to find entry level or workforce housing to set roots in our community. Calls for more diverse and attainable housing have been heard directly from both the community and businesses through the City’s General Plan update process over the past 18 months, as well as distantly from Sacramento through statewide mandates to accommodate such housing. Charting a course forward is going to require creativity, open minds, respect for our past, and an eye towards the future.
The City’s General Plan update is one mechanism City residents and stakeholders have to assess current community conditions, anticipate future needs, gather public input, identify priorities, and maximize local discretion to forge a strategic path forward. Ultimately, the updated General Plan will serve as a blueprint for the City’s future, providing residents and the private sector with a greater sense of certainty about the City’s overarching guiding principles and priorities for the future.
As the City’s comprehensive General Plan update effort progresses, the City will continue to engage the community to obtain input and feedback on all aspects of the Plan, including how best to accommodate this much needed housing. City leadership remains keenly focused on balancing comparably important community values and priorities to preserve Thousand Oaks’ historical and illustrious charm, while also increasing its economic vibrance and resilience to best position the City for arduous 21st Century economic conditions.
Deepthi Kolli, PhD is shown working on ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay), used to detect the measure functional proteins in response to Atara’s cell therapy product.
