WHERE BUFFALO ROAM

Levy fuzzed up the public record by suggesting that the Irvine Co. is out to do away with the so-called Buffalo Ranch (a.k.a. Lange Financial Plaza) and the few buffalo still there.

Our company does not want to buy the Buffalo Ranch buildings.

The road alignment that would impact one (not the oldest) building at Lange Financial Plaza was advocated by residents who wanted the widened road placed away from their homes.

As owner of the land on which the buildings sit, we have been drawn into the discussion of whether they are truly historic. Aerial photos from the early 1950s show no buildings on the site. Other records indicate that the buildings, many of them former Army barracks, were moved piecemeal to the site over a period of time.

If local officials determine that the site has true historic significance, we will participate in a preservation plan.

LARRY THOMAS

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT

THE IRVINE CO.

Newport Beach Shawn Levy responds: Two messages left with the Irvine Co. drew no response. The company has not renewed Lange’s lease and, according to my sources, if the buildings stand vacant for three months, the Irvine Co. can then legally assume ownership.