Oxnard is beginning the environmental review for a new 121-unit development featuring attached townhomes and affordable housing at a property destroyed by a 2024 fire.
The Citirina development is proposed for the vacant 6.53-acre former Sunkist property at 245 E. Colonia Road.
The environmental review is expected to take about six months, including public review periods, said Jamie Peltier, planning supervisor for the city, in an email on Aug. 25.
The city's planning commission will first make a recommendation to the City Council, which will take final action, she said. Those meetings are not anticipated until spring 2027, after the environmental review is completed.
The project is subject to the city’s inclusionary housing ordinance, which requires
10% of units to be affordable to low-income households. Developer Warmington Residential has agreed to provide 12 units, Peltier said.
The property owner on the application is Danny Sooferian, she said.
The three-story project would stand 38 feet tall, Peltier said. Of the 121 residential units, 18 units would have three bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms, while 103 would have four bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms.
Each unit would include a two-car garage, and the development would provide 45 onsite visitor parking spaces, she said.
Peltier said if approved, construction is anticipated to begin in 2028, although no opening date has been established.
The site formerly housed a Sunkist packaging plant.
On the night of March 5, 2024, the plant was heavily damaged in a fire that took 19 engine companies and four ladder trucks to extinguish by March 6, according to an Oxnard news release issued that day. The building was considered a total loss.
The incident was one of the largest fires in Oxnard’s recent history, officials said. The cause remained under investigation.
In October 2025, Oxnard Fire Chief Alex Hamilton saidthat an arson investigation into the fire’s origins remained open and that investigators believed that it was intentionally sparked but had not identified a suspect. Hamilton said in an Aug. 28 text message that the investigation was still underway.
A community workshop for the project was held Aug. 17 and drew approximately 90 people, including city staff members, Peltier said. About 20 people spoke.
The project is in Councilmember Aaron Starr’s district. He attended the workshop and said in an email that people were concerned the project “will gentrify the neighborhood, aggravate traffic and parking and not offer a sufficient number of affordable units.”
Starr said he could not express an opinion on the merits of the project.
Mayor Luis Mc Arthur said the project remains under review and that community feedback plays an important role in the process. He said he looks forward to “thoughtfully considering” the project.
“Overall, I am supportive of efforts to increase housing in order to help address California’s housing challenges and to provide more opportunities for Oxnard residents to live and work in our city,” he said.
Oxnard resident Daniel Alvarez, 44, owns property in the city's La Colonia neighborhood and said his mother lives there. He said he wanted to see at least 20 affordable units before supporting the project.
“I just want the people to have a chance to own some property,” said Alvarez, who served as chair of the La Colonia Neighborhood Council until stepping down earlier this year.
Joe Oftelie, president of Warmington Residential, said, his company was "open to that dialogue” about increasing the number of affordable units because the final total has not been determined.
Oftelie said the project was in the early stages of public outreach, staff review and environmental analysis, making it too soon to establish a timeline. He said he hopes planning commission and City Council meetings could begin early next year.
For more information on the project, visit: https://citirinaoxnard.com/.
Wes Woods II covers West County for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at wesley.woodsii@vcstar.com, 805-437-0262 or @JournoWes.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Environmental review begins for Oxnard project at ex-Sunkist property
