Hello, Texas doughnut: Here's why a windowless monolith is taking shape in Oxnard
Some motorists have noticed a large, windowless structure rising off northbound Highway 101 in Oxnard's Riverpark neighborhood, where a giant crane looms over the gray monolith taking shape near the Santa Clara River.
It's a parking garage — but the current view isn't permanent.
The six-story parking structure is part of the 333-unit Panorama Apartments project now going in at 2700 N. Ventura Road.
The future apartment buildings will be constructed around the exterior of the parking structure, covering the drab concrete with a friendlier face.
"If you go out there now, you can see the residential building is starting to go up around the garage," said Jonathan Cornelius of Fore Property Co., the Las Vegas-headquartered developer of the complex.
Wood framing for the five-story apartments is now visible from the freeway and behind the parking structure along Ventura Road. When the project is done, the top floor of the garage will be visible above the surrounding apartments.
The complex will feature mostly studios, one- and two-bedroom units, Cornelius said, along with a few three-bedroom apartments. About 15% will be designated as affordable.
If construction goes as planned, the first tenants could move in around Labor Day in September 2025, he said. The project could be complete in early 2026.
The apartment complex is going up next to other active construction in an area of Riverpark known as The Landing, where a Shake Shack is planned. Already open are a Panda Express and Chick-Fil-A. Two four-story Marriott hotels are being built along with a multi-tenant commercial building. A gas station and car wash are in the works.
An assisted living and memory care facility for seniors, Oakmont of Riverpark, stands next to the future apartment complex.
The overall area that includes The Landing runs along the northbound side of the freeway, extending west from Oxnard Boulevard to North Ventura Road at the city's edge along the river. Town Center Drive provides the northern boundary.
The 4.2-acre site for the Panorama Apartments, called the Fore Apartments in city planning documents, runs along North Ventura Road at the west edge of The Landing.
A separate project planned in the area will also be noticed by motorists. A digital billboard has been approved next to the northbound freeway near Ventura Boulevard. A rendering shows it visible as northbound drivers head onto the bridge over the Santa Clara River. Another digital billboard is planned along the highway near Riverpark Boulevard.
Cornelius said the style of construction where residential units are built to wrap around a parking structure is known as a "Texas doughnut."
At the Oxnard site, he said, developers had to "really get going" on the parking garage before starting on the more attractive residential portion of the project.
"Now that the wood framing has started, that'll change people's perceptions," he said.
Gretchen Wenner is the breaking news and city editor at the Star. She can be reached at gretchen.wenner@vcstar.com.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: What's that monolith rising off Highway 101 in Oxnard?
