Bad news for Santa Ana residents. The O.C. Register is reporting that troubled developer Mike Harrah “has picked up city permits to break ground on a nearly vacant lot not far from downtown.”
Here are a few excerpts from the Register article:
Developer Michael Harrah said he’s still several months away from beginning work on the 37-story office tower he calls One Broadway Plaza. The city permits he received only allow him to begin leveling the land and digging a foundation for the huge building.
He still has to relocate the last thing standing on the site, a landmark house that his workers cut into pieces last year in preparation for the move. The old house had to weather last weekend’s rain squalls under black-plastic tarps and a leaky roof.
At first, Harrah predicted that he’d have the necessary leases inked within six months. Then he pushed it back to late 2006, and then to 2007. He now says he’s negotiating with “a couple of major tenants” and expects to begin construction in March or April. The city issued Harrah permits in mid-December to begin grading the lot and working on the foundation for the tower. But those permits note that he cannot even begin building basement walls without further approval.
For now, Harrah’s crews are working a few miles away, near the tennis courts at Cabrillo Park. Under an agreement with the city, Harrah will pay to move the historic Twist-Basler house from the tower site to the park.
Workers cut the 93-year-old house into sections last spring, to get it ready for the move. Preservationists have grown increasingly worried about the house as it sat on the lot, unprotected against the weather except for plastic tarps stretched across its open sides.
The rain storms last weekend left pools of water collecting beneath some of the sections. Members of the city’s Historical Preservation Society have warned that even a small amount of rain dribbling into the house could rot out its old timbers or spread mold across its walls.
“I can just imagine what it looks like inside,” said Alison Young, the president of the society, who had not been able to inspect the house after the most recent storms. “It’s pretty sad. I’m dreading looking into the inside.”
Harrah recently got busted for using illegal immigrants in Hawaii. He also got caught doing illegal asbestos abatement in one of the buildings that was demolished to make way for One Broadway Plaza. I really doubt he is done breaking the law.
Santa Ana Councilwoman was one of the biggest proponents of Harrah’s hideous project. We can retire her by Voting No on Measure D on February 5. Vote No on Measure D!
Art,
You seem to have forgotten that Michele Martinez was also one of the biggest supporters of One Broadway Plaza. She in fact worked for Harrah.
So id you are going to take swipes at people please try being even handed.
So permits have been pulled and work has been done before. Until he gets tenants, I am not going to waste any more time typing on this subject matter. Please let us wait to see if he gets the tenants. If not this is just another pig in a poke.
Where are the tenants?
Poster 1,
That is one of the reasons why I did not back Michele last year. But she has really come around since her victory. She is now the only Santa Ana Council Member who listens to her constituents and who really tries to do the right thing.
Ironically, Harrah himself did not back Michele last year. She learned last year who her friends really are.
I will be supporting Michele in any of her future endeavors.
#1
Harrah has burned numerous OBP supporters with false promises. They wanted to believe Harrah was the saviour that Pulido, Alvarez & Bist promoted. He is not.
Harrah is a cheapskate carpetbagger who thinks he’s a developer.
My parajitos tell me that his “big” tenant is going to be the Chivas soccer team. They will be developing a field on the roof and will play their home games there. It will suck when the ball goes out of bonds 300 feet below onto broadway avenue.
“They will be developing a field on the roof and will play their home games there. It will suck when the ball goes out of bonds 300 feet below onto broadway avenue.”
Than, he could say, he was giving back to the community”
People will buy it, just like they bought the bs of the OBP campaign.