According to the Orange County Register the new hotel that was planned to begin construction at Anaheim’s Downtown Disney last month has been indefinitely put on hold after Disney and the City of Anaheim could not agree over the terms of the development.
From previous reports the new upscale hotel had been slated to have 700 rooms spread over the west end of Downtown Disney. This included the site of the former Rainforest Cafe, ESPN Zone sports bar and restaurant, the AMC Theatres and the popular Earl of Sandwich restaurant, which closed in June to make way for the new construction.
Construction had been expected to start July 1. The new hotel was scheduled to open in 2021, making it the fourth Disney-owned hotel at the Disneyland Resort.
According to the Orange County Register, Disney pulled the project because they could not reach an agreement with the City of Anaheim over terms under which the hotel was to be constructed.
Disney’s move was in response to an August 6 letter in which Anaheim City Attorney Robert Fabela told Disney that a change in the site plan would make the hotel ineligible for expected tax incentive rebates.
“Given the city’s position that our project does not comply with the requirements of the Agreement, you have given us no other choice other than to put construction of the hotel on indefinite hold,” David Ontko, chief counsel for Disneyland Resort and International Parks & Resorts wrote to the city attorney Wednesday.
It was unclear late Thursday whether the city would revisit the issue, now that the hotel has been removed from the planning agenda.
What is not known is how this development will affect any construction already under way and the what will happen with locations that formerly housed the above restaurants and theater.
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