Costa Mesa High gets new 6-story clock tower

With the help of a construction crane, workers lifted a new six-story clock tower in place at Costa Mesa High School on Monday.

The three-sided tower, designed by HMC Architects and manufactured in Beaumont, arrived via flatbed truck around 7 a.m. The school parking lot was closed in preparation around 5 a.m.

The clock tower completes the work at the campus, including the construction of the Middle School Enclave and theater and the renovation of the front parking lot and walkways, school officials said. Funding came from Measure F, a $282-million bond measure approved by voters in 2005.

The project, years in the making, cost about $20 million.

Jim Lamond, director of facilities development, planning and design for the Newport-Mesa Unified School District, said the clock tower is a signature structure for Costa Mesa High, just as the tower at Newport Harbor High is for that campus.

“This is kind of the icing on the cake,” Lamond said.

—Nicole Knight Shine