A contentious political climate in Anaheim over the past few months hasn’t stopped every high-end hotel project in the city from moving ahead.
Early-stage construction work kicks off this month on a 12-story, 326-room Radisson Blu hotel on 3.4 acres along the Santa Ana (5) Freeway.
The four-star project is headed by an affiliate of Portland, Ore.-based hotel developer BPM Real Estate Group in a venture with Irvine-based real estate investor Greenlaw Partners.
The development team closed on the former city-owned land this month, paying about $3.6 million for the long-vacant site on South Anaheim Boulevard near Disney Way.
The estimated full project cost is nearly $170 million.
The development site is on the opposite side of the freeway from Disneyland and about a mile from the entrance to the theme park. It would be the largest hotel in Anaheim east of the 5 Freeway.
Plans include an “outdoor rooftop deck bar, restaurant and social pool with panoramic views of Anaheim and evening Disneyland fireworks,” according to BPM.
Ground-floor amenities will include a “swimming pool, 3,552-square-foot restaurant, meeting space, fitness room, coffee shop, and gift shop,” according to city filings.
A four-level, 127,700-square-foot parking garage with 348 spaces would be next to the site, which is adjacent to a low-rise business park. Greenlaw Partners is in escrow to buy that roughly 11-acre property, which would give the hotel developers some flexibility on project layout.
When the Radisson brand was disclosed in April, BPM executives called the project the “perfect family-friendly upper upscale hotel.”
City officials see the Radisson Blu as a link between downtown Anaheim, the Platinum Triangle and the 1,100-acre resort area that includes Disneyland and Anaheim Convention Center.
It will be a “great choice for visitors, located right in the heart of all the city’s biggest attractions,” it said in a statement last week.
“Hotel guests can get the full Anaheim experience with this central stay, with easy access to Disneyland, Angel Stadium of Anaheim, Honda Center and the Anaheim Packing House.”
Radisson Blu is a newer, upscale take on the hotel brand. While popular overseas, there are only three Radisson Blus in the U.S., two in the company’s U.S. home in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota and one in Chicago.
Measure L
The groundbreaking comes about a month after Disney scrapped plans for a 700-room, high-end hotel near the entrance of its Downtown Disney entertainment center.
The company said it reversed course after Anaheim revoked a $267 million tax rebate for the project, whose development cost had been estimated at more than $600 million.
The hotel was scheduled to open in 2021 and was to be the company’s fourth at Disneyland Resort.
Radisson Blu project developers didn’t seek similar tax incentives, which are now tied to Measure L, a “living wage” measure in Anaheim that requires a minimum-wage increase to $15 an hour by businesses that receive city tax subsidies.
The measure appeared to pass narrowly in last week’s closely watched election, which also included the election of Republican Harry Sidhu as Anaheim’s new mayor.
Recent city documents estimated Anaheim could experience a $3.6 million negative net impact to its general fund during the first three years that the hotel was expected to operate, as a result of the Disney hotel nix. That assumes potential guests—who would’ve paid about $450 a night for a room—didn’t instead stay at other high-end Anaheim hotels.
