Despite all efforts to rescue the former National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration building located on Point Pinos in Pacific Grove from the federal auction block, the building – dubbed “Azul Bay” by the General Services Administration – was sold on April 6 to an unknown buyer for $4.8 million. Negotiations for the final sale are expected to take two months. The proponents of turning the building into a nonprofit center for science and art are refusing to give up.
“We’ve had a lot of people coming to our aid and support but so far we’ve been unable to move the powers that be in Washington,” says Charles Greene, one of the leaders of COAST, which stands for Center for Ocean, Art, Science and Technology. “We’ve tried a lot of political approaches, now we’re going to take legal action.”
Greene expects they will file a federal injunction against the GSA, the Public Buildings Reform Board and the Office of Management and Budget by April 22. They are looking for other plaintiffs to join in the legal fight, as well as donations to pay attorney fees moving forward.
COAST members contend that the federal authorities didn’t follow their own rules in decommissioning the building. Normally federal sites must be offered up to state and local governments, but that didn’t happen, despite a formal request by the city of Pacific Grove in 2012. In 2020, the NOAA property was placed in a portfolio of properties under the Federal Assets Sale Transfer Act meant for “high value” assets.
In December 2021, based on new evaluation standards, the PBRB determined the NOAA building was not a “high value” asset, which should have prevented an auction. GSA officials argued the new standards apply to future auctions. “Azul Bay” was offered for sale, with scant information about coastal restrictions on the site.
Greene says GSA’s attitude toward following rules is “we don’t care, we don’t have to,” he says. “We’re going to make sure they have to.”
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.