TUSTIN – A 17-story wooden hangar first used in World War II to house blimps will be demolished after the City Council unanimously decided Tuesday night to reject four proposals for the hangar’s future use.
Council members agreed with city staff’s determination that the proposals for the hangar were not profitable enough and set up the south blimp hangar at the former Marine base to be torn down.
The hangar’s land will be used for the Tustin Legacy project, the 820-acre former Marine base that will house parks, houses, businesses and schools.
In rejecting the proposals, Mayor Lou Bone said: “I have to say, these are the worst proposals I have ever seen addressed to the City Council.”
The council’s greatest concern was the extra tax burden for upkeep to city residents.
The decision comes a year and 11 months after the city received the last proposal. Four companies that submitted bids requested to build a motocross training facility, a senior merchandise mart, a culinary arts center and an airship assembly center.
Lance Brown, an architect in the Dome Development Group’s motocross proposal, said that despite the considerable amount of time he has spent developing the proposal, he is most upset about the demolition of the hangar, one of the largest wooden structures in the world.
“This for us is very much about saving the hangar,” Brown said, addressing the council, adding that he thought the city “over exaggerated” the condition of the hangar.
Councilman Doug Davert said he was committed to saving one of the hangars but disagreed that saving both of them was practical.
“These are not easy structures to work with in order to find a viable reuse,” he said.
The city said it would have cost an estimated $40 million to bring the hangar up to city code for any reuse project.
It could be five or six years before the hangar is torn down.
The Navy will first have to decontaminate underground water on the property.
However, the city will move ahead by leasing the land to Tustin Legacy Community Partners, the development company hired to build a portion of Tustin Legacy.
The south hangar and the county-owned north hangar are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
But according to an agreement among the city, state and the Navy, the hangar could be demolished if the city failed to get an economically viable proposal, officials said.
City staff concluded that none of the developer’s proposals were complete or met mandatory requirements.
Of the city’s 34 requested informational items, the Dome Development Group responded fully to two of the items requested.
It offered no or partial responses to 32 of the questions.
After rejecting all the proposals Tuesday, the council asked the city manager to hire someone to write a history of the hangar and create an exhibit with photos and video.
The eight-month process should cost no more than $130,000.
Contact the writer: 949-553-2918 or etorres@ocregister.com
