EDITORIAL

It had to be the best-looking vacant building in the country.

Still, no one in Newport Beach or Costa Mesa is going to lament the

long-awaited sale of the Pacific Federal Savings Plaza.

For nearly a decade, the Spanish-style building has sat empty, the

target of several high-profile but eventually unsuccessful purchases.

That all changed this week with the announced sale of the plaza by

owner Nickolas Shammas to Pasadena-based Hudson Properties LLC.

Both sides are keeping quiet, wanting to hold on to any details about

the price or potential tenants until the sale is complete in early March.

But what little is known -- that the plaza will be an office complex --

is promising.

It is promising for the city, which expects to gain an unclear amount

of property tax from the sale.

It is promising for businesses in Costa Mesa’s downtown corridor for

several reasons. One, had the plaza been turned into retail businesses,

it would have simply meant more competition in a slowing economy. Two,

the influx of workers will bring hungry lunchgoers for restaurants and a

building full of shoppers who will want to buy any number of items --

gifts, medicine or even furniture -- close to their offices.

And it is promising for residents, who won’t have to look at the

empty, though appealing, building as a symbol of hard times in Costa

Mesa.

One note of disappointment: The plaza is such a beautiful building

that it’s too bad none of it will be open to the public. A few specialty

shops, or maybe a restaurant, fitting the decor would be a nice touch.