College district scraps Lowe’s lease plan

Andrew Glazer

COSTA MESA -- Lowe’s is a no-go, the Coast Community College District

board decided unanimously Wednesday night.

The board had considered moving its offices from Adams Avenue and leasing

the land to the North Carolina-based hardware store chain to open a

branch there. The revenue would have helped fund three of the district’s

community colleges without requiring a tax hike.

But neighbors and board members felt the location wasn’t right for a

hardware store.

“By converting a grassy low-rise district office into a large hardware

store, the neighborhood would change,” board president Jerry Patterson

said. “It would bring traffic and other things there.”

Representatives from Lowe’s Home Centers Inc. said last month the Adams

Avenue property would have been a prime location for the upscale store,

but no formal project proposal has been submitted. The company is amid a

$2-billion nationwide expansion effort.

“The district always needs outside funds,” said John D. Renley, vice

chancellor of human resources. “The board has to decide what parameters

it should set in getting them.”

The decision not to pursue Lowe’s does not preclude the board from

seeking another tenant for the property, Patterson said.

But he said the board might consider leasing only part of the land and

keeping its offices there. And he said he hoped developers of homes or

apartments, which would be more appropriate there, would make offers.