Originally Posted By SFH <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/local/orange/la-me-anaheim19mar19,1,7927874,print.story" target="_blank">http://www.latimes.com/news/lo cal/orange/la-me-anaheim19mar19,1,7927874,print.story</a> Quotes: >>Business owners in the Anaheim resort district have repeatedly heard about the grand plans for the 20-acre plot near Disneyland: a trio of luxury hotels, an array of high-end restaurants and shops, and a massive parking structure. So excuse them if they're just a little skeptical when officials say construction on the GardenWalk project could begin as early as May if the City Council approves updated plans March 28. [snip] Plans once included movie theaters, an aquarium and an interactive discovery museum. The latest vision calls for an outdoor mall with about 80 restaurants and shops, three tony hotels, a 400-room timeshare, a high-end fitness center and a 3,200-space parking garage. If the project takes shape as planned, upscale restaurants such as Roy's and McCormick & Schmick's and shops such as Banana Republic and White House/Black Market will open next fall. And it will all happen as people start moving into some of the 9,000 condos, lofts and apartments in the nearby Platinum Triangle by Angel Stadium. [snip] One day, GardenWalk could stand only a few hundred yards from the site of Disney's possible third theme park at the southeast corner of Harbor Boulevard and Katella Avenue.<< Yippee.. another place where a cheapskate like me will not spend a dime. We all know what Bob Iger said about a third theme park in Anaheim at the shareholder meeting. I can't see it happening any time soon. I think we'll have to see what happens with the two existing theme parks first, especially with DCA. If WDI has a good enough (and profitable) enough plan for a third theme park, and Anaheim doesn't build a road through the parcel, I can see it happening after DCA is built up. Otherwise, I think (fear?) Disney may find it more profitable to build a Disney Vacation Club complex with the parcel. SFH
Originally Posted By SFH <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-anaheim19mar19" target="_blank">http://www.latimes.com/news/lo cal/la-me-anaheim19mar19</a>,1,5191178.story Hope that works better. Sorry.
Originally Posted By seanyoda Here you go... <a href="http://tinyurl.com/fbgsz" target="_blank">http://tinyurl.com/fbgsz</a>
Originally Posted By DlandDug Incidently, we just discussed this topic rather extensively here: <a href="http://mb.laughingplace.com/default.asp?WCI=MsgBoard&WCE=T-73370-P-4&Refresh=0319144513" target="_blank">http://mb.laughingplace.com/de fault.asp?WCI=MsgBoard&WCE=T-73370-P-4&Refresh=0319144513</a>
Originally Posted By oc_dean >>Plans once included movie theaters, an aquarium and an interactive discovery museum. << If they went through with that, I would spend some serious time there. As I see this zone in the city of Anaheim as one big fun "theme park attraction" type area. But .. since it's just going to be a "run of the mill" entertainment mall (restaurants/shops) - which is not going to be any different than every other entertainment mall in OC (The Block, Bella Terra, Irvine Spectrum, even DtD) ... I'll just go to those others. If they can't "spice up" the offerings with "theme park" kind of treats - then they are not really turning it into a destination REALLY worth making a trip.
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt I agree that the offerings listed so far are rather run-of-the-mill. I am glad, though, that there's going to be MORE to do in the immediate area for us out of town folk.
Originally Posted By Westsider If it ever gets built. They've been talking about this, launching it, relaunching it, restructuring it, rethinking it, relaunching it again, updating the construction fence, reorganizing the development team, siging and resigning tenants, searching for hotels, and then relaunching it all again for EIGHT years now. Eight years.
Originally Posted By oc_dean All you do to me is talk talk Talk talk talk talk All you do to me is talk talk Talk talk talk talk All you do to me is talk talk
Originally Posted By woody The stores sound good. The project is not guarranteed to make money. In fact, I really think the risk is very high. Disney has monopolized the businesses surrounding the location. It has done a lot to keep the nearby neighborhoods from cashing out from Disney's attendance. Why else did the local motels lasted so long? No other business thought about building upscale hotels and restaurants. Disney may squeeze the business out of GardenWalk with the planned expansion of Downtown Disney. I won't be surprised if GardenWalk suffers. GardenWalk has one good thing... it has the CheeseCake Factory, but they had better start construction or they will lose this tenant.
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt "Eight years." Eight years is nothing in terms of development time for projects that size in San Francisco. How many decades did it take to get BART extended to SFO? And they've been talking about building a new stadium for the 49er's for at least 10 years. You guys down there are spoiled.
Originally Posted By bean we have been waiting decades for them to finish the long beach freeway here also. It ends at the 10 fwy and thats it. I thinkt he equipment is still sitting there until Pasadena gives up and lets them run it thru there.
Originally Posted By oc_dean Recently in the news ... talks are to create an underground tunnel running through Pasadena. umm .. can anyone say: earthquake! Back on GardenTalk ... in reference to Woody's post ... Wouldn't the nearby "Block of Orange" be a gage to whether another entertainment mall is a good idea? The Block is only 3 miles away.
Originally Posted By ChurroMonster Go to The Block on a Saturday night and go to Downtown Disney on a Saturday night. The Block can't even come close to attracting the crowds DtD attracts. However, The Block does far more busines than DtD because they have restaurants and shops with much more appeal than the Downtown Disney offerings. The tenants who have tentatively committed to Gardenwalk make up a promising list. If the project actually gets built then I think it will be very successful.
Originally Posted By oc_dean Well .. The Block is SIGNICANTLY larger than DtD. It's the former site of The City Mall ... with LOTS of tenants .. and one of the largest multiplex cinemas in Orange County. 30 of them! The thing that DtD has over The Block is a touch of class. The Block has a California Casual "Surfer" motif about it. I'm not all that wild about it. But the list of shops and restaurants are great! Theres a Virgin music store .. and who can deny those Krispy Kremes!?! I'm sure the Witches of Morva can be spotted there when they touch down into SoCal!
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt "Theres a Virgin music store..." Who buys CD's anymore? Especially Fururists.
Originally Posted By woody >>Wouldn't the nearby "Block of Orange" be a gage to whether another entertainment mall is a good idea? The Block is only 3 miles away.<< It may, but The Block does not depend on overflow crowd from DTD or compete directly with DTD. The GardenWalk is more closely tied to DTD based on location. With the DTD expansion, the GardenWalk could suffer from too much competition. It does give people an alternative place to visit, but direct competition from Disney is always a major risk.
Originally Posted By Darkbeer But if you read all the articles about GardenWalk, their primary focus is the convention center, and the business folks that will be attending. Of course, they will more than welcome folks in town to see the DLR.
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt The convention crowd is probably who they are targeting. It makes Anaheim far more attractive as a venue to lure meeting planners if there is something adult to do in the area. Mickey and crew can often be too much of a good thing for some folks.
