I rarely ever read OC Metro Magazine. It is just too “Newport Beach,” if you know what I mean. However, a friend of mine pointed me to the latest issue as it contains an article on Mike Harrah and his amigito Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido. Here are some of the juicier excerpts:
“Harrah unleashed his risk-taking side and began buying up foreclosed midrise buildings for pennies on the dollar, renovating them and filling them up with government tenants.
I think it was a reference to the Arab American/muslim vote Cracker Connor has to attract to win that seat.…
Nothing re Melahat. Sidhu sentencing pushed out from yesterday to March 2025. I still don’t know how melahat’s sentencing date…
You are calling Shawn Gordon, Keri Lynn Baert, and the author of this piece "lefties?" LOL. Only if the definition…
Shawn, you have always hated Tony. Sad how much time you spend crying about him and other petty BS in…
Good lord, you lefties are a bunch of clowns. Beall won in a HUGE landslide. Nobody cares except you, crybabies.…
You're right, I'll make one today. Any news on Melahat?
You are asking the troll to do something he can't. The other day when Dan posted Connor Traut's Supe candidacy…
Try reading.
This site is crying for an open thread.
At first I thought Vern wrote this on a drunken bender, but since Vern is referred to in the post,…
Two towers? more like the “Three Sisters” of the new down town.
Oh Goody!
More asbestos and lead in downtown Santa Ana to kill kids.
Three Sisters? They look more like the Three Stooges.
Harrah can make all the plans he wants but what about the 50% signed tenant agreement as a condition prior to breaking ground? It’s been two years and not a peep about secured tenants.
This grand project is within feet of 3 schools – OCHSA, OCEAA and El Sol Academy. Harrah’s plans to commence construction during the school year is baffling. I find it fascinating that no school officials are looking after the health and safety of the 3,000 students that populate that area from Sept. through June.
It would more accurate to say Miguel Pulido, an business associate of Harrah.
Mayor Pulido did not vote on any item regarding One Broadway Plaza.
Why???????????????????
So Mike Harrah is the remodel king? Every building listed in Santa Ana from that article is just a remodel, no new construction.
One other notable fact is that the mayor and city have handed over huge amounts of redevelopment money to Harrah, a guy who supposedly can afford to do the work but somehow gets a free ride. He is probably quite rich since a lot of the work he does comes from taxpayer money, not his own pocket.
By not pulling the appropriate individual permits for each job and hiring his own inspectors to sign off the work after completion, by not filing plans before starting work so he doesn’t pay the city for filing change orders, by not fulfilling the requirements of his development agreement before starting work, he regularly cheats the city out of revenue. (This would not be possible without intervention from not just the mayor, but the city manger’s office.)
He also has not repaid some of the loans from the city and, after years, has not completed all of the required work on the Santora.
Tenants in parts of the Santora building rotate frequently since the building leaks and there are other complaints with the quality of work, cockroaches, etc.
Harrah was also cited multiple times and identified as a slumlord for the York apartments. He eventually had to demolish the buildings, and was then cited for improper disposal of the hazardous materials. On a separate demolition project a few weeks ago associated with the one Broadway project, he was cited again for illegal work and the project was shut down by the AQMD.
So this is the guy the mayor has selected to revitalize the city? Scary!
It is obvious from the above examples that an individual can only move like that if the top city brass have private interests in these projects.Yes it looks like taxpayers are assisting some in bsiness ventures.Joe citizen can’t even get a permit for the average of business needs.
I can only conclude that poster #6 (with his or her wealth of knowledge about Mr. Harrah) is either (1) an employee of the City ;Planning Dept; (2) a competitor developer or (3) one of the legions of people on this blog who love to hate our Mayor.
Want to know more?
Watch the web cast @5:30 pm everyday
http://www.ci.santa-ana.ca.us/councilstream.asp
Mike’s business partner talks about all the great things they are doing for the city.
If the mayor gets free time on public access to make his political agenda known and brag about what he claims are accomplishments, is an equal amount of time being accorded to whomever is running against him?Do they even know that they are entitled to this equal time?
We’ve heard that Pulido will profit both on this highrise and the next just like he profitted on the Minnie Street/Cornerstone conversion project.Backroom deals and insider info has made Pulido a rich man indeed and thus is the main reason he had Garcia run off and will lie,cheat and steal to destroy Gordon.
Where are the tenants for this 37-story tower?
Is this the same location that was busted for asbestos recently?
You mean to say that there are three schools next door to this site and the city allowed this to happen?Who runs your city and why is this guy not in jail?
Duh, the mayor sits on the AQMD board of directors and Dave Ream turns a blind eye when it comes to Harrah.
Yes, the project site is within feet of three schools and within one-half mile of two more public schools.
OCHSA administrators have failed to adequately inform parents about this project since most students do not live in the city. It will came as a big surprise when construction starts this February.
Students will be subjected to heavy-duty construction for five months!
Don’t believe the hype about Harrah being good for the city.
He’s a mixed bag at best.
All right now, just what is needed for mid-town, 450 low-income housing units.
Who are the tenants? Harrah has had years to produce the names of the tenants.
There is an allegation that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is forbidding federal government from signing any new lease with Mike Harrah due to past bad landlord relations.
Since most of Harrah’s current tenants along that strip are government tenants, who is he going to get as a big tenant?
Tickle down housing. The Mayor said it.
Whoa! Who said Harrah is building low cost housing?
He can’t lure tenants for One Broadway Plaza, the overhyped iconic, five-star, world class office tower.
A little parajito tells me Harrah is still jerking the OCHSA Foundation/Board of Trustees about the guaranteed parking spaces in their agreement.
The same parajito claims Vicky, “Santa Ana Planning Commissioner I vote for Mike’s Project,” has already placed a deposit on one of Harrah’s Santa Ana condos. Repeat business appears to be good for both of them.