Newport chamber relocates

The Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce plans to relocate in the coming months. Officials are seeking buyers for the organization’s home in the heart of the city’s commercial district.

The chamber, which has resided in a two-story office building near Fashion Island since 1976, announced Tuesday it would put its building on the market in the coming days and seek a new residence. Chamber President Richard Luehrs said administrators made the decision because the chamber was renting the land that it currently operates on, and wanted a location that would allow it to own the building and the parcel.

“In this particular case, because of real estate values and the market that’s changed around us, we felt it was time to try to seek a permanent home where we owned the ground and didn’t have a lease underneath to contend with,” Luehrs said.

He said the building where the chamber resides is owned by an individual who lives in Santa Monica. He said the chamber still has 22 years on its lease but that administrators had opted for an early move.

The chamber headquarters will be put on the market within the next week, according to Oliver Fleener, vice president of the real estate firm Grubb and Ellis. The choice location, Fleener said, should make the property an easy sell.

“It’s obviously a good owner-user facility, so it’s in the nice size range for many local tenants,” he said. “It’s in a great location, and it’s a pretty well-known site.”

He said the asking price for the property had not been set, but Luehrs estimated it about $4.2 million.