MISSION VIEJO : $4.4 Million Is Voted to Create a City Hall

After paying $32,000 per month in rent for the last two years, the City Council selected a new home Tuesday, with a vote to spend $3.1 million for a City Hall site.

In addition, the city will pay about $1.3 million to refurbish a two-story office building at 24800 Chrisanta Drive that once was headquarters for the Mission Viejo Co.

“This is a momentous occasion for the city,” Councilman Norman P. Murray said.

However, Councilman Robert A. Curtis criticized the 4-1 vote, saying the council should have built a City Hall from scratch rather than move into a building that needs renovation.

“I am extremely disturbed and angered,” said Curtis. “The council is jumping the gun on this site.”

The council said the location of the 2.2-acre site in central Mission Viejo would make city government accessible to residents.

City Manager Fred Sorsabal said the renovations will be completed by December and the building ready for occupancy by early spring. The city’s offer was accepted by the building’s current owner, Viejo Ltd.

Meanwhile, there has been a setback in plans to convert eight acres of commercial property owned by the Mission Viejo Co. into a civic center, he said.

Mission Viejo Co. President Jim Gilleran refused to meet with a council-appointed subcommittee last week for preliminary negotiations over the property, which is across the street from the future City Hall site, Sorsabal told the council.

The city manager said Gilleran was adamant about sticking to the terms of an unofficial agreement forged with Curtis two weeks ago that would have deeded 7.2 acres of land for a civic center in exchange for council approval of plans for a 719-unit housing project and a large commercial/hotel complex.