LOS ANGELES — For the first time in 20 years, Disney officials have submitted plans to the city of Anaheim to build a new luxury hotel.
The project, which would be the fourth hotel at the Disneyland resort, is slated for a 10-acre parking lot on the west end of Disney’s property. The proposed hotel would take advantage of a city incentive program that allows any four-star or four-diamond hotel to keep 70 percent of the bed taxes for 20 years. The tax represents 15 percent of the nightly rate.
The new 700-room hotel would be designed by Walt Disney Imagineering, the same designers and engineers who come up with Disneyland’s attractions, with construction slated to begin in 2018. The project should be completed by 2021, Disney officials said.
“We are excited about our proposal to build the first Disneyland Resort hotel in nearly 20 years,” park spokesperson Suzi Brown said. “This new flagship hotel would create thousands of jobs and benefit Anaheim with more than $750 million in additional tax revenue over the next four decades, while helping the city reach its stated goal of attracting more high-end visitors.”
The park already has two four-diamond hotels, the Disneyland Hotel and the California Grand Hotel and Spa. The Paradise Pier hotel is rated a three-diamond hotel by the AAA.
It has been nearly 20 years since Disney broke ground on the California Grand Hotel and Spa. The other two hotels were bought by Disney and either renamed or renovated later.
Despite the Anaheim incentive program, Disney estimates that the hotel will generate more than $150 million in bed taxes and property and sales taxes for the city over 20 years and $750 million in bed taxes over 40 years.
A theme for the hotel has yet to be announced, but the amenities will include a rooftop terrace, a rooftop restaurant, two pools and a “water play area.”
Although the project would remove 10 acres of parking, Disney officials noted that they had previously announced plans for a 5,000-space parking structure and transit center as part of a $2 billion investment in the park over the next 10 years.
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