Surplus Property Due to Go on the Block

In its third attempt to raise money through the sale of assets, Orange County will place 16 surplus government properties on the block this spring, including several homes and vacant lots.

The auction is expected to take place in late March and might be held in Newport Beach, officials said.

Among the properties up for sale are the Orange County Housing Authority building on Broadway in Santa Ana, a harbor club in Newport Beach, and 30 acres of open space in Orange.

The county has already sold about $16 million in surplus real estate--including a fire station, a parking lot across from the Pond in Anaheim and various vacant parcels--since the county declared bankruptcy in December 1994.

The county plans to use proceeds from the sales to help in its bankruptcy recovery efforts.

The Board of Supervisors is expected to decide next month on what to do with a parcel in downtown Santa Ana that now houses the historic Howe-Waffle mansion.

For years, the county has leased the land to the city and its historical society, which fully restored the ornate Victorian home and uses it as a headquarters.

Bids were sought for the property late last year. The society submitted a $140,000 bid, but the county also has received a slightly higher bid from a local lawyer.