OCVibe proposal to remake Honda Center area approved by Planning Commission

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ANAHEIM, Calif. (Aug. 29, 2022) — Anaheim’s Planning Commission on Aug. 29 approved a proposal for 95 acres of new entertainment, shopping and dining, offices, apartments and open space built around Honda Center and the ARTIC transit hub.

Known as OCVibe, the proposal would transform the area in decades to come with the type of excitement and experiences seen around arenas and stadiums in San Diego, Sacramento and Los Angeles.

The Planning Commission approved the proposal 5-0 with two members absent. Anaheim’s City Council is expected to consider the proposal on Sept. 27 and potentially again in early October.

The proposal calls for a new concert hall, amphitheater, farmers markets, a food hall, craft breweries and rooftop bars.

Offices would mix indoor and outdoor workspaces, and apartments would include some 200 affordable apartments, all alongside and plazas, paseos and park space.

Estimated at $4 billion, OCVibe is a proposal by Anaheim Real Estate Partners LLC, a company of Anaheim Ducks owners and Honda Center operators Henry and Susan Samueli.

Development would be privately funded with no city revenue, subsidies or rebates. We could work with the OCVibe team on federal and state grant applications for parks and roads that would benefit Anaheim.

OCVibe would be the biggest project in Anaheim since the late-1990s expansion of The Anaheim Resort.

It is part of Anaheim’s planning for the Platinum Triangle, the area around Honda Center and Angel Stadium of Anaheim.

Our planning calls for a modern, urban village built around sports, entertainment, jobs, public transit and open space.

Already, since the 2000s, the once-industrial area has transformed with apartments, condominiums, restaurants and craft breweries alongside the ARTIC transit center, baseball, hockey and other events.

Initial plans for OCVibe were first shared in 2020. Over the summer, the OCVibe team held two community meetings, one in July at the Phoenix Club and one in August at the Sunkist Gardens Mobile Home Park, to share details about the proposal.

 

The OCVibe proposal is the type of master planning that could bring benefits to Anaheim. 

The project is the result of bringing together properties around Honda Center and then master planning them for maximum benefit.

The properties include 16 acres of formerly city-owned parking lots sold in 2019 to what’s today the OCVibe team for development as part of the project. 

Road improvements and new parking garages with technology to get people in and out easily are part of the OCVibe plan.

The project’s design itself would also ease traffic that comes with any new development.

Ideally, someone could both live and work at OCVibe and not have to get in their vehicle for days.

Someone who just works onsite could park a vehicle for the week and utilize ARTIC next door, with a proposed bridge linking the station to the offices and apartments of OCVibe.

Conversely, someone who lives at OCVibe could walk to ARTIC and take public transit to workplaces somewhere else.

And coming to OCVibe for hockey, concerts and other fun would be even easier with better use and integration of ARTIC.

For residents across our city, OCVibe would bring new entertainment, shopping, dining and outdoor spaces to enjoy.

It also would bring new revenue that will help us fund public safety and community services.

As land around Honda Center gives way to new uses, we would see property values and our share of county property tax revenue go up.

With new shopping and dining, we would see our share of state sales tax increase.

Hotel taxes ― Anaheim’s largest source of funding for public safety, community centers and city obligations ― also would increase as the proposal calls for two news hotels with more than 500 rooms.

If approved, we could see construction of parking garages start in 2023 with significant overall project completion by the 2028 Olympic Games, when Honda Center hosts indoor Olympic volleyball.

You can learn more, see full details as well as planning documents at Anaheim.net/OCVibe.