Most of the Furniture in Place at Agoura Design Center

It took four years for Michael Adler to finally reap the rewards of his plan to create what he described as “the high-end destination furniture retail Center for the Los Angeles/Ventura County area.”

The process was neither quick nor easy. Not only did it take three years to get all of the necessary approvals from the City of Agoura Hills but then the declining economy caused several prospective tenants to back out.

“We originally had leases signed with Drexel Heritage, Henredon and Stickley and those three tenants decided not to open,” said Adler. “They halted all new store openings and that very much affected us.”

The upside, he said, is that the new tenants “are the survivors.”

With the signing of three new leases, and two final letters-of-intent in hand, Adler said the 120,000-square-foot Agoura Design Center in Agoura Hills is 95 percent leased.

“We’re in the process of finishing it now,” said Adler, whose Adler Realty Investments is the developer and landlord. “We received our certificate of occupancy a few weeks ago.”

The first three tenants Ethan Allen, Berks, and Keyboard Concepts moved in even before the COO was issued.

As for the new stores, Jeffrey Dake