New uses are being explored for the landmark site of the former Trinity Broadcasting building in Costa Mesa, two years after its sale to Irvine-based commercial real estate firm The Khoshbin Co.
The property, now dubbed The Palazzo by Khoshbin, is being marketed as a multifamily development, though it’s drawn heavy interest from a breadth of prospective buyers, including schools, businesses, museums and churches, according to listing broker Anthony DeLorenzo of CBRE.
“There’s so much visibility on this site, it’s conducive to any type of industry,” DeLorenzo told the Business Journal.
The campus, which spans 6.2 acres at 3150 Bear St. on the southern edge of the San Diego (405) Freeway, gets around 90 million views from passing vehicles annually.
An asking price is not yet listed, but “given the amount of activity, we’re going to see a pretty exceptional number,” DeLorenzo said.
Apartment development would appear to be the most valuable use for the land, given other recent sales in the city of late.
Car Showroom
The Khoshbin Co. bought the site in 2021 for $22 million.
CEO Manny Khoshbin wasn’t initially planning on selling the site this soon, but the recent wave of interest he’s had on the property changed his mind, he told the Business Journal.
“I bought it for the land value,” Khoshbin said. “It was a long-term investment.”
The property’s history dates back to the 1990s, when its ornate 65,652-square-foot building previously housed Christian media network Trinity Broadcasting until 2017.
At the time of Khoshbin’s purchase, he said he planned on spending millions to renovate the building into a creative campus.
Khoshbin currently uses the building as corporate offices for about 15 Khoshbin Co. employees and as a private showroom for his luxury sports car collection.
The company reports owning nearly 500,000 square feet of real estate across the U.S., a majority of which is in Orange County.
Measure K
Marketing materials for 3150 Bear St. highlight a recently enacted Costa Mesa law that boosts multifamily development in the city.
The law, called Measure K, overrides an older policy that previously stunted development in Costa Mesa, according to developers.
That prior law, named Measure Y, required voter approval on certain Costa Mesa projects.
Only one development was greenlit under Measure Y: One Metro West, a 16-acre mixed use project in the South Coast Metro area. The development—which calls for more than 1,000 rental units, 25,000 square feet of creative office and recreational uses and 6,000 square feet of retail space—is set to break ground late next year or in the first quarter of 2025.
Measure K eclipsed Measure Y last year after winning by 22 votes on the Costa Mesa ballot.
Since it went into effect, Legacy Partners Residential’s Hive Live multifamily project advanced in Costa Mesa’s approval process.
