MISSION VIEJO : Agreement on $2.8-Million Site Advances Plans for Civic Center

The City Council has agreed to pay $2.8 million for a four-acre site that may become the site of a new City Hall.

Architects will now begin designing a civic center complex to include a library and possibly a telecommuting center on the newly purchased land plus another six acres of city property at Marguerite Parkway and La Paz Road.

Although a new City Hall will not be built for several years, Monday’s land transaction will speed up construction of the library, officials said.

Architects had put final library blueprints on hold to see whether a future City Hall should be included in the overall design.

“This allows us to plan and build the library now,” Councilwoman Sherri M. Butterfield said. “It also lets us plan for ways we can accommodate our city offices in the future. Until we knew the fate of this site, we couldn’t go forward with the library.”

Also on Monday, the council agreed in principle on an offer from development company Mark Taylor Inc. for an eight-acre parcel off Crown Valley Parkway.

The sale, expected to bring in $4 million to $5 million, would help pay for the purchase of the City Hall site and part of the library construction costs.