Irvine Co. seeks to shutter office space
The Irvine Co. wants permission to essentially shutter some Newport Center office space, including the 24 Hour Fitness building, in order to make room for Pimco’s new office tower.
The city’s general plan limits the amount of office space in Newport Center, and to free up enough for the Pimco building, the Irvine Co. will ask the Newport Beach City Council on Tuesday for permission to empty spaces instead of demolishing them.
According to a city staff report, the Irvine Co. intends to vacate the 24 Hour Fitness building at 600 Newport Center Drive, which is beneath a parking structure, and some office space in the 100 block of Newport Center Drive.
It is pledging to maintain the buildings’ exteriors and landscaping, and to keep the lights on, in order to avoid the appearance of “blight.”
Pimco, the global bond trading firm, plans to move into a 20-story office building under construction at 650 Newport Center Drive. The Irvine Co., which will act as landlord, expects to finish the tower in mid-2013.
If the company changes its mind and wants to keep the gym building open, it would have to transfer development rights from elsewhere in Newport Center, or choose other spaces to empty.
Irvine Co. spokeswoman Erin Freeman said the company has not made a final decision about the 24 Hour Fitness building’s disposition.
In November, 24 Hour opened a new high-end gym in Costa Mesa’s Triangle Square; the fitness company’s website calls the location “Costa Mesa Newport.”
Twitter: @mreicher