Tech center sold to Hoag partner

Buyers plan to turn struggling office complex on Newport Boulevard into medical facility.Hoag Hospital affiliate Newport Healthcare Center LLC has purchased the largely vacant Newport Technology Center with plans to convert it to medical offices, hospital officials announced Thursday.

The purchase price was not disclosed. Officials with Newport Superior Group LLC, which sold the building, could not be reached for comment.

The 415,500-square-foot technology center was built in 2001 on a Superior Avenue site that overlooks Newport Boulevard. One of its four office buildings will be demolished to add parking, leaving about 300,000 square feet for medical-related uses.

The facility will house outpatient services and medical and administrative offices, and the buildings will become occupied in phases.

Envisioned as a hub for Internet start-ups and research offices, the center has struggled to find tenants since it opened. It’s been suggested as a site for Newport Beach city offices, and the Daily Pilot at one time considered leasing space there.

Debra Legan, spokeswoman for Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, said the center will house doctors and services connected to Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian but will also have space for unaffiliated medical uses.

The deal has been discussed off and on for about two years, Legan said. With more than 1,000 doctors on Hoag’s staff, the demand for medical office space in the area is huge, she said.

“If you look up and down Old Newport Boulevard, almost all the available buildings are being converted to medical office space,” she said.

Newport officials and slow-growth advocates said they’re pleased with the hospital’s plan, but it’s unclear whether the technology center will need to be rezoned or would require a public vote.

If the new use would generate 100 more peak-hour trips than the current use, a vote would be required.

“This is a classic example of the smart growth we favor,” said Phil Arst, a leader with the Greenlight Committee.

The group headed a successful ballot initiative to put voter controls on major developments in the city in 2000.

“Providing needed medical facilities for the community, that’s smart,” he said. “It creates some traffic, but the payoff is for the benefit of the people, not some developer.”

The center hasn’t been successful because there’s not a big market for technology and research uses, Newport Beach Councilman Steve Rosansky said.

“That’s a perfect use for that property,” he said. “With the way the real estate prices are and the smaller size lots [in the area], it’s virtually impossible to add any significant office space.”20060210iug2rcncMARK DUSTIN / DAILY PILOT(LA)The Newport Technology Center, which a Hoag Hospital affiliate bought, is slated to be converted to medical offices.