Kennedy Wilson Set to Break Ground on CSUCI Project

Building on a unique public-private partnership with California State University Channel Islands (CSUCI), Kennedy Wilson signed a long-term ground lease for a 32-acre parcel in Camarillo owned by the university. Kennedy Wilson recently unveiled plans for a new mixed-residential community there.

The soon-to-be-named development project contributes to Kennedy Wilson’s growing global development pipeline totaling 4,700 multifamily units that are expected to deliver by 2024 and will expand Kennedy Wilson’s global multifamily portfolio to more than 33,000 units once completed.

Kennedy Wilson has re-entitled the land for a master plan that will deliver 310 market-rate apartments, 109 for-sale homes and 170 income-restricted apartments for seniors as well as community-serving amenities to the university-adjacent site at the western edge of the Santa Monica Mountains.

“Developing this new community is an important step in our larger partnership with CSUCI and will meaningfully contribute to a region that is short on supply of high-quality apartments and homes for faculty, staff and local residents,” said Nick Bridges, Kennedy Wilson managing director who structured the partnership with CSUCI. “Many people are rethinking how and where they want to live, and we continue to see a trend of residents moving from city centers towards communities that have access to the outdoors, are commutable to major employment centers and are relatively affordable. Camarillo and CSUCI are uniquely positioned to benefit from this renewed interest in suburban living.”

The Kennedy Wilson project will break ground in fourth quarter 2021. Kennedy Wilson will develop the wholly owned apartments and its affordable housing joint venture, Vintage Housing, using a combination of affordable housing tax credits and other financing sources to build and offer 170 apartment homes to income-qualified seniors. The townhome sites will be built and sold by Comstock Homes in a joint venture that includes Kennedy Wilson as a minority partner as well as Hearthstone.

“We are thrilled to see the site’s redevelopment process begin, and to move ahead on a pioneering public-private partnership that will also generate a significant revenue stream to benefit our campus’ future growth for years to come as well as provide housing options for our faculty, staff and other community members,” said Richard Yao, CSUCI interim president.

The project is a continuation of a seven-year partnership between Kennedy Wilson and CSUCI. Kennedy Wilson originally acquired an existing wholly owned 386-unit apartment community and the 15,000 square feet of retail from CSUCI in the adjacent University Glen neighborhood in 2016 and has since invested $8 million to enhance interiors and exteriors.