Resort Area Will Get Major Face Lift

Aging residential neighborhoods surrounding Anaheim’s resort area and Disneyland will get an $11.5-million make-over that includes enhanced street lighting and new sidewalks.

The City Council on Tuesday adopted a three-year beautification and infrastructure program for the neighborhoods, using $5 million in bond money issued for resort-area improvements.

In addition, the city has already earmarked about $6.5 million in federal grants and general-fund money for supporting projects to upgrade the neighborhoods.

The Anaheim Resort Neighborhoods Improvement Program includes street trees, school bus stops, and park and alley renovations. Supporting projects call for a new park at Anaheim Boulevard and Vermont Avenue, street resurfacing and revitalization of the Guinida Lane and Provential Drive neighborhoods.

The program is aimed at residential areas, consisting of 1.9 square miles and an estimated 29,800 people.

“This is what Anaheim should be doing, investing in our neighborhoods, and we are doing that,” said Councilman Tom Tait. “I think this will have long-term effects for improving the quality of life in the city.”

Councilwoman Shirley McCracken also said the program is a big step for the residential communities and one that will give them an image boost: “It will make the improvements that many of those neighborhoods have been waiting for for years.”

The largest chunk of the money to be spent--about $3.8 million--will go toward revitalizing the Jeffrey-Lynne apartment neighborhood next to the Disneyland Hotel. A developer is working with the city on a renovation plan for that deteriorated neighborhood, which for years has suffered from substandard housing conditions, gangs and other crime problems.

City Manager James D. Ruth said that this comprehensive plan to upgrade the quality of these older residential areas--with most of the housing built in the 1950s and 1960s--is the first of many long-term benefits that residents will see as a result of the resort project. About $546 million is being spent in the resort area for projects that also include an expanded convention center, infrastructure and cosmetic improvements.

Mayor Tom Daly said the improvements planned in these neighborhoods will be mirrored citywide: “This is an example of what needs to be done in many other sections of Anaheim, especially in older neighborhoods.”