Trinity Broadcasting sells its ornate Costa Mesa headquarters to developer

It’s looking like the end of an era in Orange County, and in the world of religious broadcasting.

Trinity Broadcasting Network’s ornate headquarters off the 405 Freeway in Costa Mesa could be a thing of the past.

The Christian media network announced Friday that its 6.19-acre property at 3150 Bear St. has been sold to Greenlaw Partners, an Irvine-based commercial real estate firm that was behind the revamp of The Triangle commercial center in Costa Mesa.

A sale price has not been disclosed, according to the Orange County Register, which also reported that TBN now finds its campus “obsolete” as the organization grows nationally and internationally.

Representatives of TBN and Greenlaw did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Times Community News on Friday.

TBN acquired the Bear Street property for $6 million in 1996, according to property records. It was assessed at $41.3 million last year, according to the Register.

The campus features a 65,650-square-foot, three-story building constructed in 1979, according to city records. It was first used by Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship International.

The property has a Costa Mesa general plan designation of general commercial and is zoned for administrative and professional uses.

In 1998, TBN dedicated its building as Trinity Christian City International. In 2014, the flagship property and studio were renamed the Dr. Paul F. Crouch Sr. International Centre in honor of TBN co-founder Paul Crouch, who died in 2013. Crouch’s wife, Jan, died in May.

TBN was founded in 1973. It includes more than 30 24-hour networks, making it the world’s largest faith-based television group.

hannah.fry@latimes.com

bradley.zint@latimes.com