Bidding War Erupts for Iconic SoCal Federal Building

Bids are swarming in for the 1M SF Chet Holifield Federal Building site. Now, the General Services Administration has extended an auction for the iconic facility in Laguna Niguel.

Since the auction began on June 5, a total of at least 72 offers have been made for the property at 24000 Avila Road, driving the price to nearly $152M—more than twice the starting price for the auction, which was supposed to end on July 31.

On Monday, four more offers arrived, upping the ceiling by $1.2M to $151.8M, the Orange County Register reported. The GSA said it will continue to accept bids for the 91-acre site of the federal facility until 6 p.m. on August 27.

According to the newspaper report, three would-be owners are duking it out for the property.

On the opening day of the auction, the contenders made 11 bids, raising the starting price of $70M to $125.3M. The bidding was still fast and furious as the original auction deadline approached, with nine offers coming in on July 30 and three more on July 31, raising the ante to $136.8M.

If you take a look at the Holifield Building—the 53-year-old, seven-story concrete edifice was designed by William Pereira to resemble a Ziggurat, an ancient stepped pyramid that dates back to the beginnings of civilization in Mesopotamia. You might think the bidders are vying to preserve this example of an architectural style known as Brutalist.

In fact, the opposite is true. The bidding war for the property ignited when the Feds told developers they could tear the building down and redevelop the site.

The ongoing auction for the site is actually the second attempt by the GSA to sell it. The first auction in late 2022, which required the buyer to preserve the building known locally as the Ziggurat, drew no offers. The Feds have waived the preservation requirement for this round.

The 91-acre site is being eyed for a large housing development. Last year, a study by the Urban Land Institute recommended that Laguna Niguel allow a developer to build up to 4,000 homes on the property, with a density of 60 to 80 units per acre.

When it opened in 1971, the Ziggurat was occupied by North American Aviation. The GSA bought the building in 1974, occupying it with workers from a dozen federal agencies, most recently including regional offices for the IRS and Department of Homeland Security.

The architect William Pereira, who died in 1985, also designed San Francisco’s Transamerica Pyramid.

One of the most recognizable landmarks in West Sacramento is a 10-story Ziggurat building at 707 3rd Street built in 1997 on the banks of the Sacramento River next to the Tower Bridge.