Pair of proposals would bolster Disneyland Resort, add residential to area

Walt Disney Co. eyes new hotels, restaurants, private developer plans to replace trailer parks with apartments

Pair of proposals would bolster Disneyland Resort, add residential to area
Disneyland in Anaheim (iStock)

A pair of long-term proposals for Anaheim’s resort district would include new hotels, restaurants and stores near its Disney theme parks, plus the first new housing in the area in years.

The 1,100-acre Anaheim Resort area could see new growth over the next two decades based on plans submitted by the Burbank-based Walt Disney Co. and a developer behind a non-Disney project known as Katella Gateway Anaheim, according to the Orange County Register.

If approved by the city of Anaheim, the proposed developments could replace a mobile home park, shopping center and a Disneyland parking lot with restaurants, shops, hotels and apartments.

The Disneyland Resort in Anaheim is made up of the Disneyland and California Adventure theme parks along with the Downtown Disney retail and entertainment center. A proposal under what Walt Disney Co,. has dubbed the “DisneylandForward” initiative would make use of underused space at its operations and extend its presence with new dining and shopping beyond the park gates.

(Disney)

Disney plans for an immersive theme park in a separate expansion.

The multinational entertainment and media conglomerate has approvals to develop more than 3 million more square feet at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure, while adding more than 140,000 square feet of stores and more than 7,000 new hotel rooms.

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Its new initiative would redistribute existing entitlements for thousands of new hotel rooms and nearly a million square feet of visitor-serving development to “set the stage for the next 20 or 30 years of growth,” said Joe Haupt, a consultant to Disney on the project.

Katella Gateway Anaheim, meanwhile, would replace a 23-acre mobile home park between Haster Street, East Katella Avenue and the 5 Freeway. Its plans include four hotel towers, four residential towers and several commercial buildings.

The project, now under city review, would replace 200 mobile homes with 1,200 hotel rooms and 1,100 apartments. Retail space would be incorporated in a development expected to take up to 20 years.

Plans now call for an 18-story hotel with ocean and mountain views, five acres of retail and brownstone-style vacation units, plus an undetermined number of affordable homes, said Chris Lowe, a consultant working for the property owner.

The latest proposals would continue a busy stretch in Anaheim. Last fall, the city approved the sale of 150 acres around Angels Stadium to Los Angeles Angels owner Arte Moreno for $150 million. In addition, Orange County’s largest retail investment deal of 2021 closed in Anaheim with a $53 million sale of Home Depot. Meanwhile, Gelt recently paid $147 million for an Anaheim apartment complex.

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[OCR] – Dana Bartholomew