Council could add park land

Three apartment buildings on Costa Mesa’s Westside could be razed and turned into a park, but only if City Council members decide to buy them and also can find the cash.

The Council Tuesday will have a closed-door discussion about whether to negotiate for properties at 791, 795 and 799 Shalimar Drive. Costa Mesa City Manager Allan Roeder said city officials might be interested in buying the land to create a small neighborhood park or open space for the area.

The Westside has a shortage of park facilities, and the Council would be following a trend started in February when the city bought a parcel on the Eastside that will be combined with the adjacent Brentwood Park.

The Shalimar Drive parcels include three identical buildings that each contain two three-bedroom units and two two-bedroom units, said Sebastian Naum, a broker with Evergreen Properties. The company is representing the Pimentel family, which owns the buildings.

All the units are occupied. The asking price for each building is $950,000, Naum said, so the city would need $2.85 million to buy all three.

Its not clear where the council would find the money. The city’s park development fund “essentially has no balance right now,” Assistant City Manager Thomas Hatch said.

About $395,000 in the fund was budgeted for parks projects this year, and a $3.5 million loan was taken out to buy the Monte Vista property, he said.

More money will come in from developer fees for future residential projects, but that will go to pay off the loan unless the Council decides to direct it toward something else.

A new park in the neighborhood likely would be applauded by some residents, who have complained to the Council for years about the need to upgrade the Westside and reduce crime. The Shalimar Learning Center has helped address gang problems since it opened in 1994, but as recently as November 2006 police reported a gang-related shooting in the area.

Naum said several people are interested in buying the Shalimar properties, but he’d like to do business with Costa Mesa if the city is interested. He also favors the park option for the properties.

“I think it’s a great idea. They need some green stuff there,” he said. “The more parks you make in the area, the better.”