Was walking up Main Street in SanTana the other day, and who was driving a massive Cadillac Escalade without a care to gas prices? None other than Mike Harrah, the Weekly's former landlord, one of many sugar papis to councilmember Claudia Alvarez, and the man who wants to build a 37-story building near a residential neighborhood that would be the tallest in Orange County.
Seeing Mike staring glumly into traffic reminded us we hadn't thought about his phallic skyscraper complex for a while. SanTana voters approved One Broadway Plaza in 2005 with the provision that Harrah fill up more than half of the building with tenants before he began construction. He's been saying that he's close to signing up “a major corporation” since 1999, and yet nothing. The area where One Broadway Plaza is supposed to stand is barren save for a chopped-up historic home exposed to the elements. The sluggish economy means few people want to relocate at this point, which would usually signify Harrah could cash in once it gets healthier, but other developments in more-prestigious parts of Orange County mean those companies will go there.
Just give it up, Mike. Become SanTana's most beloved man by turning the One Broadway Plaza property into a park–that'll do more goodwill than Papi Pulido has ever accomplished in his 22 years in SanTana politics. Stick to riding around in a Harley instead of attempting to be a bearded Robert Moses. And, please, please, please, get acts into your Orange County Pavilion that aren't cover bands or conservative shindigs!
