MISSION VIEJO : City Eases Terms for Sale of Building

The City Council has reduced the down payment for a company interested in buying a two-story office complex owned by the city.

During a closed session, the council decided to accept a $200,000 down payment from J.B. Financial--half the amount the two parties agreed on last month. When the Oregon-based development firm was unable to come up with $400,000 by Friday, the council agreed to consider a lower initial payment.

Last month, the council voted to accept a $3.35-million offer from the company for the office building at 24800 Chrisanta Drive. Under the terms of the tentative agreement, J.B. Financial will be allowed to move in shortly after making the down payment.

The balance of the money is payable in six months. The Chrisanta building and the down payment will be forfeited if the rest of the money isn’t received within six months.

City officials say the deal depends on whether J.B. Financial can sell a condominium complex it owns in San Diego County. John Bowen, the principal owner of the firm, said the Chrisanta property will become the company’s new corporate headquarters.

He described J.B. Financial as a “fairly good-sized” company with a net worth of about $500 million. The firm has offices in California, Oregon and Arizona.

The office complex was purchased by the city last year for $3.1 million, and the council originally intended the building to become a temporary City Hall.

However, when a new council majority was elected last November, those plans changed. Led by Mayor Robert A. Curtis, the new council decided in January to put the Chrisanta property back on the market and build a civic center on vacant land off Crown Valley Parkway.