Pointe Anaheim Deadline Extension OKd by Board

The developer of the proposed $500-million Pointe Anaheim project across from Disneyland won key approval Monday for a one-year extension to start construction of the shopping, entertainment and hotel complex.

Pointe Anaheim LLC, which has had difficulty obtaining financing for the project, received unanimous support from the seven-member Anaheim Planning Commission to extend its August deadline for a year. City Council approval is expected within weeks.

Pointe Anaheim’s project manager, Robert Shelton, said the city’s extension shows a commitment to the project.

“I look at this as a cooperative action by the city to say, ‘OK, things are moving, you need the extension, here you go,’ ” Shelton said.

Under terms of an agreement with the city, Pointe Anaheim had one year--until this August--to obtain financing and start construction on three hotels, three live theaters, stores, restaurants and a nightclub district.

But the developer, Shelton acknowledged, has struggled to secure financing because the city requires the entire project be built at one time.

Shelton said he is confident that the project will be financed by year’s end and that construction will begin soon after.

“We have lots of tenants, lots of people that have talked about being joint venture partners,” he said.

Before construction can begin, the company must acquire all 29.1 acres included in its proposal last year. It has options to buy all but one parcel, a 10-acre site that contains the Anaheim Plaza Hotel.