Santa Clarita to Pay $11.5 Million for City Hall Building

The city of Santa Clarita disclosed Tuesday that it will buy the Valencia National Bank building, where City Hall is located.

In an unexpected announcement, the city said it will pay $11.5 million for the three-story building, which it purchased from Valencia Plaza, a limited partnership based in Woodland Hills, Councilwoman Jan Heidt said.

The City Council did not discuss the acquisition publicly because state law allows such discussions to be held in closed session, Heidt said.

Negotiations over the sale began last fall after the owners approached the city with an offer to sell the building in the 23900 block of Valencia Boulevard, Heidt said.

The city agreed to buy the building after the owners reduced the price by more than $1 million because of the slumping real estate market, Heidt said.

Officials at Valencia Plaza could not be reached for comment.

Heidt said buying the building enables the city to save about $500,000 annually in rent.

The building, located just down the street from the site of a regional shopping mall, is a good investment, Heidt said.

“But we’ll probably change the name of the building” to Santa Clarita City Hall, she said.

The city still plans to proceed with plans to build a new City Hall and Civic Center complex on 268 acres it purchased for $7 million two years ago, she said.

But by acquiring the bank building, the city has more flexibility to plan and finance the project, which is expected to cost more than $35 million.