Historic Santa Ana Building is for Sale
neil c
The owner of the former Masonic Temple is negotiating with the Church
of Scientology. Proceeds will help fund his 37-story office tower.
By Jennifer Delson, Times Staff Writer
April 13, 2006
The developer who bought up and then rebuilt much of Santa Ana's
downtown is negotiating to sell one of his prized historic buildings to
the Church of Scientology.
Mike Harrah spent $11 million to restore the four-story building, which
features three theaters with ornate moldings, painted ceilings and
enormous candelabra. Reborn as the Santa Ana Performing Arts and Event
Center, it was home to a weekend cabaret and a restaurant and was seen
as further proof that the city's urban core had been revived.
Harrah said he needed to sell the former Masonic Temple to raise money
for the construction of a 37-story glass office tower, which would be
the tallest building in Orange County. Construction, expected to cost
$86 million, is set to begin in December.
In all, Harrah owns 56 buildings in downtown Santa Ana and has set the
standard for revitalizing the city's aging downtown.
Marie Murillo, a spokeswoman for the Church of Scientology of Orange
County, said the church intended to move into the former Masonic Temple
and have the facility operating as a church within six months. The
church, she said, spent nearly two years seeking a unique building.
Murillo said the church would move from Tustin, where its facility was
deemed too small. The Tustin facility is the only Scientology church in
Orange County, though there are missions in Newport Beach and Costa
Mesa that offer training, counseling and other services.
News of the church's arrival in downtown Santa Ana received a lukewarm
response.
"It's the last thing we need. I'm very sorry that we have a cult moving
into town," said Tim Rush, vice president of the Santa Ana Historical
Preservation Society. "It gives people another reason to laugh at Santa
Ana."
"Does this mean Tom Cruise is coming to town?" asked Mike Macres,
referring to one of the church's best-known members. Macres is the
owner of Macres Florist, which has been in town 71 years.
Murillo said she believed the church had a lot to offer Santa Ana and
expected the facility would draw several hundred people a week to the
downtown area.
"We believe that we have a lot we can bring into this city to
contribute to make it an even more prosperous city. The church does a
lot of work in the community in areas such as handling illiteracy and
criminality, anti-drug campaigns and human rights," Murillo said in a
written response to questions from The Times.
Harrah makes no apologies for selling the 1930s-era building on North
Sycamore Street. He said he had no choice.
"It's either rob some 7-Elevens or sell some buildings," Harrah said in
jest. "Since I don't look good in a [jail jumpsuit], I'm selling some
buildings."
Harrah said the church had been "very professional in their business
terms and practice." He said he knew little about Scientology but that
"in America, everyone can have the opportunity to do what they want and
believe what they want. That's the beauty of this country."
Over the years, the Church of Scientology has opened churches in
several historic buildings, Murillo said. In 2004, it opened a church
on historic Main Street in downtown Buffalo, N.Y., and the year before
that, it restored a 1909 building in San Francisco, she said.
Harrah says the church's experience occupying historic building shows
"they are not going to paint it pink and green or something."
Harrah, who owns art galleries, restaurants, parking lots and office
buildings in downtown Santa Ana, has worked to create a restaurant and
arts district in the area. Last year, shortly after closing the
restaurant Athena, he opened two other nearby bistros. Original Mike's
includes a display of antique cars and features live music. He also
opened the upscale Ambrosia inside OC Pavilion, another structure he
bought. It features a 500-seat theater.
But the revived Masonic Temple never drew crowds. The structure had
stood empty for 17 years and once was slated to be an indoor flea
market. It was marked to be razed at one point.
After Harrah restored it, "everyone said they were going to use the
building but they didn't," Harrah said. "I can't carry [the mortgage
payments] forever. We tried a lot of stuff, but it's been very
difficult."
The church rented space in the building for events and then offered to
buy it, Harrah said.
neil c
http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/news/atoz/article_1099815.php
Ted Mayett
wrote:
>Historic Santa Ana Building is for Sale
>
>The owner of the former Masonic Temple is negotiating with the Church
>of Scientology. Proceeds will help fund his 37-story office tower.
>By Jennifer Delson, Times Staff Writer
>April 13, 2006
>
>Marie Murillo, a spokeswoman for the Church of Scientology of Orange
>County, said the church intended to move into the former Masonic Temple
>and have the facility operating as a church within six months. The
>church, she said, spent nearly two years seeking a unique building.
>
>Murillo said the church would move from Tustin, where its facility was
>deemed too small. The Tustin facility is the only Scientology church in
>Orange County, though there are missions in Newport Beach and Costa
>Mesa that offer training, counseling and other services.
>
>The church rented space in the building for events and then offered to
>buy it, Harrah said.
>
bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa the monkeys are winning!
bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
but but but everybody knows about scientology. everybody knows it is
a scam, bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
This building is big, Patty found a nice picture:
http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/news/local/communities/santaana/article_1099150.php
--
Ted Mayett
http://www.solitarytrees.net
Eldonbraun
just a junk building anyway. About the same age L. Ron Hubbard was when
he died in a Bluebird motor home. So what?
Susan
speak spanish. I called a business there about a month ago and the folks who
answered the phone could barely understand or speak english.
Susan
"neil c" <neilcl...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
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