{"id":468511,"date":"2026-09-19T00:54:29","date_gmt":"2026-09-19T00:54:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/468511\/"},"modified":"2026-09-19T00:54:29","modified_gmt":"2026-09-19T00:54:29","slug":"santa-ana-residents-grill-developer-over-latest-one-broadway-plaza-proposal-orange-county-register","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/468511\/","title":{"rendered":"Santa Ana residents grill developer over latest One Broadway Plaza proposal \u2013 Orange County Register"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tensions between Santa Ana residents and representatives of developer Caribou Industries remained high throughout a second sunshine meeting held Thursday to discuss revisions proposed for One Broadway Plaza, a 37-story tower first approved by the city more than 20 years ago.<\/a><\/p>\n

One Broadway Plaza<\/a> was pitched in 1999 as a commercial skyscraper, and the City Council approved the needed zoning changes in 2004. During the pandemic, the developer asked to reduce the office space and introduce a residential component to the project. The current proposal being reviewed is for a residential tower with 572 housing units \u2014 a mix of studio and one- to three-bedroom apartments \u2014 and retail, dining, and community-serving uses on the vacant North Broadway parcel, between West Washington Avenue and West 10th Street. Next door is the Orange County School of the Arts.<\/p>\n

More than 50 people attended the meeting Thursday night, packing into a room inside the former Original Mike\u2019s restaurant near downtown Santa Ana, a building also owned by Caribou Industries President Mike Harrah. Many attendees donned black shirts that read \u201cStop One Broadway Plaza\u201d on the front and \u201cSanta Ana No Se Vende,\u201d or \u201cSanta Ana is Not for Sale,\u201d on the back.<\/p>\n

The sunshine meetings are required by Santa Ana<\/a> for certain development projects early in the review process to gather public input.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m all for entrepreneurship and people improving Santa Ana,\u201d said Irene Caba\u00f1as, president of the Willard Neighborhood Association. \u201cIf it was five or 10 stories, let\u2019s review that. But this will be the tallest thing in all of Orange County, double the size of the Big A at the Angel Stadium. It just does not belong in the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Caribou Industries representatives argued that \u201cdemand was high\u201d for the type of residential units being proposed.<\/p>\n

The meeting was run by William Beaubeaux, an architect for Caribou Industries, and Katie Cawelti, an external contractor from Curt Pringle and Associates, who said she was hired to help facilitate the event. Beaubeaux said Harrah \u201cwould have loved to attend,\u201d but had other meetings and could not make it.<\/p>\n

\"MariaMaria Ceja, middle, shouts out during a meeting held in Santa Ana on Thursday September 17, 2026. Residents had a second opportunity to review the latest proposal for One Broadway Plaza, a 37-story urban high-rise offering residential suites, retail and restaurants proposed in Santa Ana.
\n(Photo by Karen Tapia, Orange County Register\/SCNG)<\/p>\n

Residents at the meeting repeatedly referenced\u00a0a glossy, COVID-era marketing brochure selling One Broadway Plaza<\/a> as \u201cthe tallest, greenest, most technologically advanced, luxury urban community in the history of Orange County,\u201d asking if some of the touted features, such as an onsite data center with \u201cmilitary-grade security,\u201d a rooftop sports complex and a commercial heliport, are still included in the project\u2019s latest iteration.<\/p>\n

The current proposal has shifted almost entirely to housing<\/a>, with the office component entirely dropped. It is still proposed at 37 stories, but the plan now calls for the residential apartments across 32 floors, a nine-level garage holding more than 2,400 parking spaces, a grocery store, and about 64,000 square feet of retail.<\/p>\n

During Thursday\u2019s meeting, Caribou representatives fielded questions attendees submitted on cards, with most residents using the gathering to voice opposition rather than seek information. Several questions also drew non-answers.<\/p>\n

Pricing is \u201chard to determine right now,\u201d data-center questions were waved off because no commercial tenant \u201ccan be determined at this point,\u201d and concerns about gentrification were met with \u201cthat was all discussed prior,\u201d while the rooftop helipad was explained only as being \u201cmainly for emergencies\u201d.<\/p>\n

Technical questions were deferred to the city\u2019s environmental review.<\/p>\n

One resident asked, \u201cWhy are we having this meeting then, if you guys don\u2019t have all the information? I don\u2019t understand. What\u2019s the point?\u201d<\/p>\n

Cawelti explained the meeting had a limited scope of what could be discussed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019re here to talk about today are the amendments within the building itself, which includes the makeup of how many residential units there are, and the exact square footage of the office commercial space,\u201d she said. She told residents the project is still going through the city\u2019s public review and entitlement process and hasn\u2019t gone up for approvals yet.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis meeting is an opportunity to share the current proposal, answer questions, and garner your feedback,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

In a room that overwhelmingly opposed the tower, one 55-year-old Santa Ana resident, who said he had experience being unhoused earlier in life, shared a different perspective.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe more housing, the better,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He said Orange County needs \u201c10 more towers like this one,\u201d adding that building on a vacant dirt lot adds more units rather than removing them. He argued that when high-earners move into the proposed tower, they vacate older Santa Ana units and allow people to \u201cmove up a seat.\u201d He asked not to be named, citing fear of being \u201charassed\u201d over his views.<\/p>\n

The project revisions are now expected to be reviewed by the Planning Commission before heading to the City Council for final approval, though those dates have not been determined yet.<\/p>\n

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