A bidding war has broken out for the eye-catching, pyramid-shaped federal office building in Laguna Niguel.
Offers so far have more than doubled the asking price for the mostly vacant Chet Holifield Federal Building.
The online auction for the eye-catching “Ziggurat” building and the surrounding 89 acres started June 5 and was supposed to end July 31, if the bidding had cooled by then. But bidding rules allow the auction to continue as long as there’s active buyer interest.
That means that after the current high bid is topped, the auction for the property — considered a rare development opportunity in south Orange County — remains open for another 24 hours.
The website of the General Services Administration, which is running the auction, showed four bids on Monday alone before 6 p.m. Those bids boosted the high bid by $1.2 million to $151.8 million. Since June 5, there have been 72 bids by three unidentified wannabe owners. And bidding will run at least through 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 27.
The busiest bidding took place during the auction’s first day, with 11 bids driving the price from the $70 million initial bid to $125.3 million. That’s a 79% increase.
The next bidding came just before the initial deadline. Nine bids on July 30 pushed the price to $135.6 million. Three more on July 31 sent the price up to $136.8 million.
Every business day since then, at least two bids have been made to keep the auction alive. But there have been spurts of action: six bids were made on Aug. 15, five on Aug. 6, and four on Aug. 5 and 23.
Related links
Ziggurat back up for auction, no preservation easement required
Feds get no interest in auction of iconic Ziggurat building
Laguna Niguel’s $70 million Ziggurat auction is wasted opportunity
Any interest in buying the iconic Ziggurat ?
The Ziggurat: How a white elephant became a county landmark
Laguna Niguel’s landmark could be facing the wrecking ball
Ziggurat a touch of Babylon in Orange County
This is the second auction for the nearly empty complex. The first auction, which required the buyer to preserve the distinctive yellow structure, drew no bids. The heated response to the latest auction – without that development restriction – suggests the buyer will likely demolish the structure.
The building was designed by famed architect William Pereira, who died in 1985. He’s known for unusual-looking structures – from the spider-like building at Los Angeles International Airport’s entrance to the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco.
Laguna Niguel’s Ziggurat was supposed to be a factory and corporate offices for defense contractor Rockwell. Construction was completed in 1971, but the building went empty and then traded to the federal government for defense plants in Los Angeles in 1974.
Orange County Register reporter Erika Ritchie contributed to this report.
Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com
Related Articles
How a New England vacation opens eyes to preservation, innovation
HOA Homefront: How do we face the accuser in disciplinary hearings?
It was a hot real estate trade. Now investors are worried
How can owner-occupants avoid common rent mistakes?
Real estate news: Former rehab campus in Orange transitioning to affordable apartments
Leave a Reply