Orange County’s Ziggurat Building Headed Back to Market

The United States General Services Administration listed a unique-looking office building in Orange County for sale.

The former Chet Holifield Federal Building in Laguna Niguel hit the market for an undisclosed price, L.A. Business First reported.

The 90-acre property is home to the Ziggurat building, which spans 1 million square feet at 24000 Avila Road. Built in 1971, the building was constructed by architect William Pereira, the designer behind San Francisco’s Transamerica Pyramid, in a style resembling a Mesopotamian ziggurat temple.

The federal government has been trying to sell the Ziggurat since President Joe Biden’s administration, and a $70 million starting bid in 2023 drew no buyers. Hilco Development Services and its investment partner, Jeff Pintar of Pintar Investment Company, won a second auction with a $177 million bid in 2024, paying 10 percent before scrambling for capital.

The GSA eventually turned to the second-highest bidder, Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, in a move that resulted in litigation, but the sale didn’t close.

Since then, President Donald Trump’s GSA has been offloading federal properties across the country. The GSA identified 443 buildings a year ago for “accelerated disposition,” including seven in the Los Angeles area. The defunct Department of Government Efficiency had estimated shedding real estate would save up to $430 million in annual operating costs.

In selling the Ziggurat, the GSA is taking a “targeted approach to reducing the bloated federal real estate portfolio” by eliminating long-term liabilities, including delinquent maintenance costs, GSA administrator Edward C. Forst said in a statement.

Outside of Washington, D.C., California had the most lease cancellations by the GSA of any state, and Los Angeles County was the biggest contributor to that shortfall. L.A. accounted for 70,000 square feet, or 21 percent of the 337,800 square feet canceled last year. Agencies such as the Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Natural Resources Conservation Service faced the elimination of their offices in areas like Wilmington, Rowland Heights, Monterey Park, Brentwood, Downtown L.A. and Mid-City.

Meanwhile, the GSA is signing new leases in the area. In January, the agency leased 74,100 square feet at the former Los Angeles Times building at 145 South Spring Street in downtown Los Angeles, according to L.A. Business First. The Federal Public Defenders Central District of California will occupy the space.

— Chris Malone Méndez