Disney Deal Is a Tall Order for Cash-Strapped Anaheim : Parks: Company wants city to acquire land worth millions for proposed WESTCOT Center. Real estate speculation is under way.

Despite rosy imaginings about the city’s future with Disney’s serene WESTCOT Center and its glittering Spacestation Earth as a centerpiece, city officials must face the cold reality of 1991: Anaheim would be forced to pledge millions in public funds it does not have.

At minimum, the preliminary master plan for the proposed $3-billion development calls for the city to acquire more than 50 acres for the project’s three parking structures in an area where real estate has been selling for more than $1 million per acre.

Local officials and real estate analysts say the land costs likely will climb much higher. They say Disney’s announcement Wednesday of plans to build the complex already has sparked a frenzy of interest in Disneyland-area properties by owners of restaurants, hotels and other businesses eager to benefit from a growing tourist attraction.

“The city just does not have that kind of money right now,” said Anaheim Councilman Bob D. Simpson after attending a public unveiling of the 470-acre “Disneyland Resort.”

Anaheim’s worries about the cost could become a moot point, some say, since Disney will not decide until the year’s end whether to build the company’s second Southern California attraction in Anaheim or Long Beach, where Disney has proposed a 414-acre ocean theme resort called “Port Disney.” However, Anaheim officials believe their city holds a slight edge in the competition because they believe Orange County has fewer governmental obstacles.

In Long Beach, Disney needs approval from the city government as well as various state, federal and coastal agencies.

But in Anaheim, the increased financial demands couldn’t come at a worse time as the city struggles with a projected $20-million budget deficit spread over the next two years, declining sales tax revenues and the demands of other multimillion-dollar projects it now manages.

In addition to the property, Disney Development Co. Vice President Kerry Hunnewell said the entertainment company will seek some sort of public financing for its costly transportation plan. That phase of the project calls for new off-ramps from Interstate 5 that would carry traffic directly into planned multistory parking structures.

The city also may be tapped to help in the reconfiguration of streets, especially the elaborate plans for a proposed new main entrance to the park off Harbor Boulevard.

In all, the project promises to add three new hotels along what is now West Street, which planners want to rename Disneyland Drive as the park’s main thoroughfare. Plans also call for the renovation of the Disneyland Hotel and a face lift for Disneyland.

The new addition--WESTCOT Center--was inspired by Florida’s EPCOT Center, a 260-acre “permanent international showplace” framed by a giant white golf ball-like dome. EPCOT, which stands for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, houses displays focusing on discovery and scientific achievements with pavilions representing 11 nations.

In the new park, Disney officials basically have planned to bring a version of the phenomenally successful Florida attraction to the West Coast, which explains the WESTCOT name.

Neither Disney nor city officials could estimate Thursday the scope of the project’s public funding needs.

“It’s basically an unknown,” Councilman Tom Daly said. “I don’t know enough about what Disney’s needs are and what the city staff will recommend to accommodate those needs. But based on what I’ve heard and seen, let’s just say it will be a considerable challenge.”

Hunnewell said the land needed for two parking structures is located just east of Disney’s main entrance, off Harbor Boulevard, and stretches to Katella Avenue. A third parking structure is planned for the northwest side of the park, off Ball Road. He said Disney controls most of the 30 to 40 acres needed at that location.

“What we’re proposing is a project that would provide incremental fiscal benefits to all levels of government,” Hunnewell said. “What we’re proposing in the way of transportation improvements will not only benefit Disney but the city of Anaheim as well.”

Still, the costs promise to be staggering and real estate speculation already is well under way.

One hotel owner, who asked not to be identified, said that shortly after Disney’s plans were made public Wednesday, he received a $5-million offer for his 60-room motel located near a plot of land proposed as one of Disney’s eastern parking structures. Without Disney’s plans, analysts said, the property wouldn’t be worth nearly that much.

“I told him no,” the owner said. “I knew all he wanted to do was turn around and flip it (for more money).” The owner said he had not decided what will be done with the motel.

Chuck Noble, a real estate analyst, said larger blocks of land in the area probably will attract the most activity. Noble said one that should draw the attention of hotel developers is the 58-acre strawberry field near the corner of Harbor Boulevard and Katella Avenue.

Long-time owner Hiroshi Fujishige and his family have repeatedly resisted overtures by Disney and other potential buyers of the land, yet Noble predicts that the pressure could be turned up a notch as the tourist industry scrambles for prime locations near the new park.

Some members of the Fujishige family attended Thursday’s private announcement ceremonies at Disneyland, and Disney executives have outlined the family’s property as being under consideration for Disney expansion.

“There’s no pressure,” the 68-year-old strawberry farmer said Thursday, “at least not yet. I’ll just sit low for quite a while.”

PROFITS SEEN: Walt Disney Co.’s new venture, whether in Long Beach or Anaheim, will be highly profitable, analysts say. D2