Architect Says Disney Work Was Done : Resort: In first comments since he left project, Kerry Hunnewell says completion of tasks made it time to move on.

In his first public comments since resigning earlier this week, the former project director of the proposed $3-billion Disneyland Resort said Wednesday that he quit because his share of work on the project was completed.

“My development team has accomplished a great deal since the inception of this project,” said Kerry Hunnewell, who left the company Monday. “ . . . Since my portion of the work is complete, it is a natural time to move on.”

Hunnewell, a veteran architect with a master’s degree in business administration, had guided the project through its design and planning phases and had recently been working as the lead negotiator for Walt Disney Co. on the project’s economic development agreement with the city. That agreement is still not completed, but local, state and federal governments are being asked to provide up to a third of the project’s cost for infrastructure improvements.

Hunnewell’s boss, Ken Wong, said Hunnewell’s departure was “mutually” agreed upon a couple months ago after the two met to discuss the project.

“He made a great contribution at the stage of the project where his talents were at their highest powers,” Wong said Wednesday.

But recently, Wong said, the company has become increasingly concerned that the project was behind schedule and that the economics of the venture still didn’t “pencil out.”

Disney officials this week reiterated their concerns, saying they are “troubled” by the possibility that the proposed resort and theme park may be too expensive for the company to build.

Those comments have heightened concern among city and community leaders that Disney officials are reconsidering their commitment to the project, which promises thousands of jobs and tens of millions of dollars in annual taxes to Anaheim. They point to the company’s enormous financial losses in France at the Euro Disney Resort and its announced plans of building another theme park in Virginia as evidence that the Anaheim project is in jeopardy.

Wong said those developments have no impact on the Westcot project for Anaheim, which calls for more than 5,600 hotel rooms and a second theme park in the parking area next to Disneyland.

Hunnewell’s departure, however, was taken by some in the city as a further sign of trouble.

In his prepared statement, Hunnewell said he will continue to work as a consultant on the project.

“Working for the Walt Disney Co. over the past four years has been a challenging and exciting opportunity,” he said. “I leave behind many friends and trusted business associates to whom I wish all the best in their future endeavors.”

Hunnewell refused further comment.