Bank to Fill Costa Mesa High-Rise : Security Pacific Signs 10-Year Lease in Coast Metro Center

A $55-million, 10-year lease by Security Pacific National Bank--the second largest in Orange County history--will tie up an entire third office tower in the 85-acre, mixed-use South Coast Metro Center in Costa Mesa.

Construction started last week on the $37-million, 240,000-square-foot bank headquarters and is being developed as a 50/50 joint venture between the tenant and Torrance-based Transpacific Development Co.

The project will be one of six 12-story towers planned for the center, totaling an estimated 1.3 million square feet of office space.

The master plan for TDC’s $190-million center includes a complex known as The Lakes with a 21,000-square-foot retail center for specialty shops and restaurants and 770 luxury apartments. A three-acre park and lake have been completed.

Two Hotels for Area

Included in the area are two hotels--the 238-room Beverly Heritage, a Northview project that opened in mid-May, and a 200-suite Marriott Courtyard, under construction.

Gin Wong Associates of Los Angeles, designer of the office towers, the retail center and the Beverly Heritage Hotel, has created an unusual exterior treatment of the office building conglomerate, combining polished granite with ribbons of gray-tinted glass stretched across a multifaceted exterior design that provides a maximum number of corner offices.

The first phase of the office complex--two 12-story towers providing 526,000 square feet of space--opened in September of 1985.

Security, Energy Systems

The third tower, under construction for Security Pacific, is being built by Turner Construction Co. of Los Angeles, and targeted for completion in the third quarter of 1988. It will be at the intersection of the San Diego (405) and Newport (55) freeways.

South Coast Metro Center buildings all have built-in computerized telecommunications and security and energy management systems.

During the past six months, more than 75,000 square feet of office space have been leased at South Coast Metro Center, with 75% of the first tower already occupied. The leasing agent for Metro Center is Coldwell Banker of Newport Beach.