Downtown Anaheim Acts More Residential

Anaheim officials have tried to shake criticism that the downtown area shuts down after 5 p.m.

The answer, city officials believe, is to introduce urban dwellers to the downtown corridor. To that end, construction begins today on a 56-home development on 5.5 acres at Santa Ana Street and Anaheim Boulevard.

Called the Boulevard, the project is one of three being constructed this year to fill in parts of downtown Anaheim better known for industrial and business uses. Thirty-six units are earmarked for sale to people who work or live in Anaheim and who qualify for housing assistance.

The city’s goal, said community development director Lisa Stipkovich, is to promote enough new downtown development to create an urban residential lifestyle.

Two larger projects will be launched downtown later this year. A 330-unit development is planned at Santa Ana and Olive streets, on the site of a former hardware factory.

And a 500-unit development is planned between Harbor and Anaheim boulevards, near the Disney Ice arena. The city has pledged $13 million to construct a parking structure to serve the development and an adjoining retail and restaurant complex.

“We want to bring life back to a downtown beyond the working hours of 9 to 5,” said Steve Kabel, president of John Laing Homes, developer of the Boulevard.

The first phase of the Boulevard is expected to be completed by December.

The city offered John Laing Homes and its development partner, CityHome, a break on the cost of the land, in exchange for receiving about 1% of the sales revenue from the project.

Developers have tried to reinvigorate downtown Anaheim since the 1970s, when a project dubbed Project Alpha razed dozens of historic buildings but left nothing in their place.

“It’s bittersweet. We’re probably more disappointed that the historic landscape ... is virtually gone,” said Richard Ward, a member of the Anaheim Historical Society. “But we’re excited that something is happening.”

Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle said he envisioned a more traditional downtown while maintaining the heritage of the county’s oldest incorporated city.

“It had no soul,” Pringle said of the aftermath of Project Alpha.

“Now I see a lot more residential units, a lot more nightlife and a lot more excitement.”