Pacific Federal Savings Plaza to be sold

Jennifer Kho

COSTA MESA -- It’s official: City Hall won’t be moving into the

Pacific Federal Savings Plaza across the street from Triangle Square.

After almost a decade of sitting empty at the corner of Newport

Boulevard and 19th Street, the Spanish-style building is getting a new

owner, Pasadena-based Hudson Properties LLC.

“It’s definitely good news,” Councilman Gary Monahan said. “The sooner

we get a tenant there, that will help revitalize downtown even more.”

During the past 10 years, more than a few rumors of new tenants have

floated around the building’s grove of palms. Whittier Law School. A

hotel. A Newport Beach life insurance firm. And best of all, the long,

drawn-out process involving the city itself.

Any hope for that move ended in May when the city gave up

negotiations, unable to settle on a price with the property’s owner, Los

Angeles businessman Nickolas Shammas.

At the time, Shammas was seeking about $30 million. By press time, no

selling price was available. Escrow is scheduled to close in the first

week of March.