The Anaheim Ducks owners, who operate most of their business lines through their Corona del Mar-based H&S Ventures entity, in February closed on the purchase of The Phoenix Club, a 27,518-square-foot meeting hall at 1340 South Sanderson Ave., just north of the city-owned Honda Center. The purchase includes excess land around the building.
The Samuelis, under their Miramar Venture Partners affiliate, paid $18 million for the nearly 7-acre property, records indicate.
Redevelopment Likely
The site was sold by The Phoenix Club, a German banquet hall and restaurant known for its annual Oktoberfest event. It has occupied the site for nearly two decades.
The Phoenix Club is expected to remain at the site for at least another year, at which point the organization hopes to relocate into a smaller space, sources indicate, paving the way for the Samuelis to redevelop the property.
The deal is the first reported land acquisition for the Samuelis since they revealed plans last June for a 115-acre mixed-use project called ocVIBE.
The Samueli team kicked off the pre-development process in November 2018, striking a deal to buy 10 acres of city-owned parking lots next to the stadium. They subsequently finalized an agreement to keep the Ducks in the city until at least 2048, with options until 2073.
More than 10 additional private acquisitions have also taken place under the H&S Ventures flag, giving the Samuelis control over more than 75 acres immediately east of the Orange (57) Freeway, running north from the city’s ARTIC transit station to Ball Road.
ocVIBE
The $3 billion project will include 2,800 residential units, two hotels, more than 800,000 square feet of office space, a new concert venue, food hall, restaurants, parks and other amenities in the area surrounding the 650,000-square-foot Honda Center, which the Samuelis have managed since 2003.
The Samuelis have yet to submit development plans for the newly acquired Phoenix Club site, which is not currently included in the proposals for ocVIBE, however that’s likely to change.
“Though there are no immediate plans for the Phoenix Club site, it could certainly become part of the longer-term plans for ocVIBE,” notes city spokesperson Mike Lyster.
H&S Ventures will operate ocVIBE, which aims to receive entitlements this year, with construction likely to begin in 2023.
The first phase is expected to deliver by 2024 and the entire project is scheduled to wrap by 2028, when Honda Center will play host to indoor volleyball for the Summer Olympics.
