Caribou Industries, which has submitted plans to erect the tallest building in Orange County and is a big player in the remaking of downtown Santa Ana, has paid $13.8 million for Park Tower Center near the Civic Center.
Santa Ana-based Caribou, led by businessman Michael Harrah, bought the 10-story, 150,000-square-foot building from The Krausz Cos.
Park Tower is home to attorneys and government agencies such as the U.S. Small Business Administration. Caribou Industries also owns the Santa Ana Performing Arts Center across the street, and Park Tower Center’s 600 lots will supply the parking for art patrons.
The acquisition bolsters Caribou Industries’ stake in downtown Santa Ana. Harrah’s firm owns some 1.5 million square feet of commercial real estate downtown and has played a key role in redeveloping the city center. The Performing Arts Center was once a Masonic Temple, originally constructed in the 1930s.
But Caribou’s biggest play still is in the offing. In December, Harrah submitted final plans to the city for a 37-story office building, which would be the tallest high-rise in OC. The 550,000-square-foot tower is planned for One Broadway Plaza.
“Mike Harrah is months away from receiving entitlements to build the tallest structure in Orange County,” said Gil Marrero, vice president of Voit Commercial Brokerage’s Newport Beach office, who represented Caribou Industries in the Park Tower Center buy. Rob Mitchell and Peter Castleton of Voit Commercial’s Anaheim office represented Krausz Cos.
“The proposed 37-story skyscraper will stand at 10th Street and Broadway, eight blocks from Park Tower Center,” Marrero said.
Santa Ana’s redevelopment has drawn businesses seeking a more urban setting. In December, DGWB Advertising moved from Irvine to the restored old Santa Ana city hall building at Main and Third streets.
But vacancy rates remain high in Santa Ana and the galleries and a theater in the city’s Artists Village say crowds are thinner than expected.
Marrero called Park Tower Center a unique building in an under-appreciated section of OC.
“The building’s completely self-contained,” he said.
The first four floors house parking, while the offices above offer views of the original Orange County Courthouse, the Performing Arts Center, the Orange County School of the Arts and the Bowers Museum of Cultural Art. The building is 80% occupied. n
