Costa Mesa Sanitary District’s new HQ has $5 million price tag to buy and remodel

The Costa Mesa Sanitary District expects to spend about $5 million to buy and spruce up a building to serve as its new, larger headquarters, according to a budget that district directors approved Monday.

The spending plan includes $3.75 million to purchase the new space at 290 Paularino Ave. — a nearly 11,300-square-foot building near John Wayne Airport — and an additional $1.3 million to remodel it.

The work will include creating new meeting space, district General Manager Scott Carroll said Monday, and renovating restrooms so they comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The district expects to close escrow on the Paularino property by the end of May. The goal, Carroll said, is for the district to be “fully relocated and open for business” at the new site by early November.

Officials say the new building will provide more breathing room than the current headquarters at 628 W. 19th St. — the agency’s home since 2004 — which is only about 7,000 square feet.

The additional space will make it possible to have a larger boardroom. The existing one is “a really tight, cramped” fit able to accommodate “maybe five” spectators, Carroll said.

The new one is planned to seat about 30.

“That will hopefully entice more people to come to our meetings, which will be great,” Carroll said.

The new building also will help address the “horrible” parking situation at the current headquarters by boosting the number of spaces to 41 from 14, Carroll said.

District reserves will cover $1.1 million of the $5 million budget, while $750,000 will come from fixture fees.

The district will finance the remaining $3.2 million over 20 years at a cost of $220,000 a year, including interest, Carroll said.

Proceeds from the eventual sale of the current headquarters will be put into reserve, Carroll added.