City Hall search narrowed to two sites

The final options for a Newport Beach City Hall site are in, and the two choices include the expected ? the existing Balboa Peninsula site ? and the tenuous ? Irvine Co.-owned property near Newport Center.

The City Council will hear a report tonight from the committee that checked out 22 possible sites. Most were cut from the list because they were too far from the city’s center, unbuildable, too costly or not for sale.

The present site has always been in the running, and closer examination didn’t change that. Among its pluses are that the city owns it and there’s already a preliminary design for a $48-million civic center including a parking structure and new fire station.

The committee found, though, that Corporate Plaza West ? the Irvine Co. land ? is more central and accessible, and it includes enough surface parking to avoid building a costly parking garage.

That property includes one 42,000-square-foot building and the entitlement to build another one. The two together would more than meet the city’s need for 72,000 square feet of office space.

The council will discuss the report today but probably can’t make a decision until more information is available. Some outstanding questions include whether the Irvine Co. will sell part or all of the 10-acre Corporate Plaza site, and for how much. The company usually leases rather than selling, but it’s unclear whether council members would want to sell the Newport Boulevard City Hall site and then invest in a facility the city won’t own.

“That remains to be seen,” City Manager Homer Bludau said. “I think that would be one of the big trade-offs, giving up property that you own and selling that property for money that could be put into other property.”

The present land could be worth as much as $6 million an acre for residential development, according to the report.

In addition to the unanswered questions about the Corporate Plaza West site, there are objections to be overcome. Councilman Tod Ridgeway said Monday he remains unconvinced that any property is more feasible than the existing one.

For one thing, he said, the economics probably won’t work. Ridgeway said he heard that a similar building near the one at Corporate Plaza West sold for $800 a square foot, which would come to more than $33 million for a 42,000-square-foot facility.

He also thinks the peninsula site isn’t as valuable as some officials estimate, because of access rights held by a developer and space required for the existing fire station.

As to whether the Irvine Co. would consider selling, company spokesman John Christensen said: “We’re aware of the interest in that site but we aren’t known for selling our assets. That said, we’ll continue to keep the lines of communication open with the city.”

The council will discuss the report today and could ask that the issue be placed on its agenda for action in June.

Also on today’s agenda is a $698,595 contract for a restoration project in Big Canyon Creek; a discussion of steps the city has taken to eliminate pollution from runoff into protected marine areas; and an appeal hearing on a permit for drug and alcohol rehab center Sober Living by the Sea that will likely be continued until June 27.

QUESTION

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