Karen Hassig helps her daughters Andrea, 5, and Nicole, 3, get their helmets on after they stopped on their bike ride to check out the Village Commons mixed-use development.

Photos by James Glover II / Star staff As she carries her 5-month-old daughter Addison, Linda Bays tours a residential unit that will be for rent at the Village Commons in Camarillo. Bays and her husband Matt are opening a frozen yogurt shop on the first level of the project.

Officials Tuesday hailed the opening of a new mixed-use residential and retail development at Village at the Park in Camarillo, the first of its kind to open in the city and part of a growing trend in community development.

The Village Commons, at Village Commons Boulevard and Village at the Park Drive, contains 13,004 square feet of retail space on the ground level.

Several retail leases are pending, and one has been signed. Swirl Yogurt Co. will open a frozen yogurt shop on the south end of the complex facing Village Commons Boulevard.

Officials indicated that coffee shops, juice bars, dry cleaners and a deli are among the possible retail businesses to be offered.

Above the retail space are 13 condominiums for rent. The smallest of the models is 1,541 square feet and the largest is 1,736 square feet. Each condo has two bedrooms and at least two bathrooms, with some that feature two and a half bathrooms. Rents are between $2,100 and $2,200 per month. The condos have granite countertops, stainless steel appliances and carpeting as well as tile.

Wide sidewalks and flourishing plants punctuate the Mediterranean-style development. Palm trees mark larger patio areas near the retail shops.

"The idea is to have a livable, walkable neighborhood where people can go to take care of everyday needs and not have to drive to get there," said Pierre Tada, an official with Granite Peak Real Estate Investments. Granite Peak is the representative for the Hiji family and Hiji Investment Co., owners of the project.

"It's consistent with the healthy lifestyle. It's a friendly live, walk and play' community," Tada said.

Village at the Park also maintains several walking trails, and a new 55-acre Sports Park complex also broke ground Tuesday. The public park is being developed by the Pleasant Valley Recreation and Park District.

"Kids can walk to their games, people can walk to do errands and it's generally an environmentally friendly development," Tada said.

Village Commons is about two-thirds of a mile from the Camarillo Metrolink and Amtrak station, and the Hiji YMCA facility is across the street as well.

"It's a perfect lifestyle for people who want to live in the heart of things and have a real sense of community," said Dennis Hardgrave, land planner with Development Planning Services and advisor to Hiji Investment Co. "It's in the center of the development here, and it's a five- to seven-minute walk from residences to these shops as well as to the new Sports Park."

Hardgrave indicated that the decision to rent out condominiums and retail space was made by the Hiji family.

"We look at it as a valuable asset, something we want to help grow and mature," he said.

Mixed-use developments involving retail and residential uses are being discussed by planners and city officials throughout the region, including cities from Ventura to Thousand Oaks, sometimes for aging areas that need revitalization.

Village Commons is the first example of new mixed-use development to come online in Camarillo.

The proposed development at Springville on the west side of the city will also include mixed use. Camarillo Commons on Arneill Drive has mixed-use already, although it was a redevelopment project and not new development.

"This is really the best development of its kind that I've seen," Mayor Charlotte Craven said. "It's so much bigger than all the others. The apartments are wonderful and large. There's a lot of room here."

"This was a good opportunity to have a new mixed-use development instead of redeveloping an area, which has been done in the past," said Bob Burrow, head of Camarillo Community Development. "There's really good separation between residential and retail space, and lots of room in general."

East of the project across Village Commons Boulevard, there is nothing built, but that will change soon, Burrow said.

A similar mixed-use project to mirror the first one will go in there. North of the project is a stand-alone space meant for a restaurant and north of that is the Sports Park at Village at the Park.

"It's not only walkable from the park, but from the surrounding residences as well," Hardgrave said. "It's big enough on the ground level to have some larger retail spaces, but the residences are large as well."

The opening ceremony Tuesday included members of the Hiji family.