The long anticipated One Broadway Plaza, proposed as the tallest building in Orange County, has once again been delayed, this time over concerns about asbestos. Didn't asbestos become extinct in the 1980s? OBP developer Mike Harrah has been asked to stop demolition of a church on the site as worried neighbors raise a stink over potential asbestos problems.
[Project neighbor Thomas Gordon] said his own tests showed that asbestos at the Santa Ana work site was three times more than federal regulations allowed without special handling. "Asbestos is deadly," he said. "This is not like secondhand smoke that goes away. These guys were bashing down the building and releasing these fibers into the air."
The project has had a long history of overcoming opposition, including a challenge to the environmental impact report and a referendum put on the ballot by opponents hoping to block the project. Harrah, who must be exasperated by now, expects a quick clean-up with demolition to resume in the next few weeks.
· Asbestos Complaints Halt Church Demolition in Santa Ana [LA Times]
· 37-story Santa Ana office tower project halted [OC Register]