53-Acre Farm Tract Sold for $60 Million : Sakioka Land Acquired for MacArthur Place

Developers of the proposed $1-billion MacArthur Place “urban village” in Santa Ana said Tuesday that they have completed acquisition of the 53-acre heart of the property from the Sakioka family, which had farmed the land for decades.

The parcel, one of the last large vacant properties along the Costa Mesa Freeway, reportedly fetched about $60 million, or a little more than $1 million per acre.

It is bounded by Main Street, MacArthur Boulevard and the freeway and lies just north of the Hutton Centre office complex.

The Sakiokas, who have farmed in Fountain Valley, Santa Ana and Costa Mesa for more than three decades, will participate in the MacArthur Place development as limited partners. The family previously has sold other landholdings for development.

BCE Development, a subsidiary of Bell Canada, is general partner and majority owner of the project.

Griffin Realty Corp. of Newport Beach is a limited partner, along with various members of the Sakioka family.

An additional 12 acres at the southern end of the Sakioka parcel have been placed under option by BCE, which intends to acquire them to bring the total size of the development to 65 acres.

H. Gordon MacKenzie, a BCE senior vice president and head of the Canadian company’s western U. S. operations, said development of the project is expected to take up to 20 years and will represent a $1-billion investment, including about $20 million for road, water and sewer-system improvements. He said that construction is expected to begin within six months.

Ultimately, the project is to include 400 apartments and 4 million square feet of retail and office space.

MacKenzie said plans call for construction to begin with the residential section of the development along with “entertainment-related” retail facilities that will include several theaters and restaurants and, possibly within the next three years, a hotel.