College district ponders leasing land to retailer

Amy R. Spurgeon

COSTA MESA -- Coast Community College District officials are considering

the prospect of vacating the district’s Adams Avenue headquarters and

leasing the land to a hardware store as a way to bring in revenue for

three community colleges.

Lowe’s Home Centers Inc. of North Carolina has made a serious attempt at

leasing the $8.1-million parcel adjacent to OCC, home to the district for

more than 30 years, according to officials at Voit Commercial Brokerage,

the real estate firm that is trying to ink the deal.

The North Carolina-based Lowe’s is one of the nation’s largest hardware

retailers with 589 stores in 39 states and annual sales in excess of $15

million.

The hardware company’s Web site boasts that it is currently in the midst

of its most aggressive expansion plan ever, $2 billion nationwide, and

that its modern superstores are the largest in the industry with

approximately 150,000 square feet of retail space.

“They are aggressively seeking opportunities on the West Coast,” said Bob

Pettis, a Voit sales broker. “[The district headquarters] is a good

location in a central part of Orange County. It would be outstanding for

the district, however, things are very preliminary.”

Last year, the district started looking at its three campus sites, OCC,

Golden West and Coastline, and its district headquarters, to see if

available plots could be identified for lease, said Jerry Patterson, the

president of the college district board of trustees.

The move was an attempt to increase revenue without raising taxes,

Patterson said.

The issue of negotiating with Lowe’s first came to light Wednesday at the

district’s board meeting. A closed session item listed on the agenda

involved approving a negotiator to lease the property at 1370 Adams Ave., between Fairview Road and Harbor Boulevard.However, no action was taken

because no official proposal has been submitted by Lowe’s, Patterson

said.”There is currently no proposal existing,” Patterson said. “Until

there is a proposal there is nothing to talk about.”Patterson said he did

not want to earmark any revenue generated from any future lease at the

site just yet. However, he did say students and teachers would most

likely be the beneficiaries of such revenue.

The district-owned Public Broadcasting Station, KOCE-TV, Channel 50, in

Huntington Beach is currently campaigning to raise $8.5 million in order

to meet the 2003 deadline to convert to a digital broadcasting format --

a mandate by the Federal Communications Commission.

While the hope of many is to raise the funds, some district officials

have pitched the idea of selling the station to Chapman University or USC

-- both colleges expressed an interest in purchasing the station’s

broadcast license last year.

But Patterson said revenue from any district land-use lease is not likely

to go toward the station.”It would not be appropriate,” he said.

As for the future, the board will take a wait-and-see approach on the

issue. Once a written proposal for the site is submitted, more closed

sessions and eventually public hearings will follow.

But the district is seriously considering leasing the property to the

best candidate.

“I say the more competition the better,” Patterson said.