Council OKs appraisal for Civic Center, Pacific Plaza

Elise Gee

COSTA MESA -- Property appraisals approved by the City Council on

Tuesday will help the city and Vanguard University assess how much it

could cost to move the Civic Center to the old Pacific Savings Plaza.

The council voted 3 to 2 -- with council members Linda Dixon and Joe

Erickson dissenting -- to front the $20,000 needed to appraise the Civic

Center and the Pacific Savings building at 1901 Newport Blvd.

Earlier this year, Vanguard University expressed interest in acquiring

the nearby Civic Center if the land ever became available. The school

wants to increase enrollment and facilities at the site on the corner of

Fair Drive and Newport Boulevard.

The decision to study relocating the Civic Center came shortly after a

realization that the city’s Police Department needed a $12 million to $13

million expansion. It would cost $19 million to totally relocate the

Police Department, according to the study done at the time.

“I think it’s very shortsighted not to take this step in the process,”

Councilwoman Libby Cowan said.

Although the city will front the money to speed up the process,

agreements with Vanguard University and Pacific Savings owner Nickolas

Shammas, which also were approved, require them to share in the cost of

the appraisals and reimburse the city at a later date.

The Civic Center would provide Vanguard with an additional 105,000

square feet, said Vanguard President Wayne Kraiss. Vanguard launched a

$33-million fund-raising campaign this year for a six-year renovation and

expansion of the school.

“Everything has been put on hold right now except the performing arts

building,” Kraiss said. “We don’t want to have a surplus of usable space.

We’ve got to conserve our dollars as well. We don’t want to build some of

the facilities twice.”

Erickson said he understood the university’s need for expansion but

did not support the appraisals.

“I don’t see how our relocation would serve Costa Mesa any better,” he

said.

The move would only be a distraction to what the real role of the city

should be, Erickson added. He also said he thought the additional space

needed by the Police Department could be accommodated in another way.

The Pacific Plaza site has been vacant since 1991 when Shammas bought

it and the asking price now is $19 million. The high-profile building,

which recently fell out of escrow, has been considered for a luxury hotel

among other things. It is about 20,000- to 25,000-square-feet bigger than

what the city needs.