A New Angel Neighborhood in the Works?

In the Anaheim Angels, Phoenix businessman Arturo Moreno is getting a world-champion baseball team, a roster chock-full of hard-charging players and a ballpark that’s been retooled with Baltimore’s Camden Yards in mind.

But he may be getting something unexpected in the deal.

The city is dusting off plans for the 807-acre area surrounding Edison Field, this time envisioning a neighborhood of offices, shops and luxury apartments similar to San Francisco’s Pac Bell Park and San Diego’s new Petco Park.

City leaders for years have referred to the swath of Anaheim real estate as the “Platinum Triangle.” Though largely a sprawl of parking lots and industrial businesses, it is thought to possess prime development and economic potential. And it already has two major draws: Edison Field and the Arrowhead Pond, home of the Mighty Ducks.

Ideas have come and gone. Ambitious plans, including one for an entertainment complex called Sportstown, have fallen by the wayside. But that isn’t keeping city officials and planners from aiming high.

“In a big, big sense, if you looked at Orange County from above, this really could be, and I think it should be, the future downtown area of the county,” said Councilman Tom Tait, a major proponent of developing the stadium area.

The plan is an offshoot of the trend of moving ballparks back to the core of a city. Anaheim city officials are proposing bringing the downtown -- or at least a big-city feel -- to its sports venues.

Plans are underway for Archstone Gateway, an 884-unit luxury apartment complex that will straddle Anaheim and Orange. It will be geared toward young professionals and empty-nesters, said deputy planning director Mary McCloskey.

The apartments would have a clubhouse, fitness center and high-speed Internet access. By infusing the area with residents, McCloskey said, the city hopes it will spark a 24-hour atmosphere, with more restaurants and shops.

“It definitely sets the bar in the stadium area for what we would be expecting,” she said.

A $250-million transportation center is also planned for the area, if the city can secure funding. Amtrak and Metrolink already stop near Edison Field, but this depot could eventually serve two proposed high-speed rail lines, including one to Las Vegas.

If those plans materialize, it could evolve into a true urban center, said Dick Ramella, principal of the Planning Center, a consulting firm that is helping the city update its General Plan.

“People will be able to get from anywhere to this location,” Ramella said. “We don’t have anything like that in Orange County right now.”

As part of the citywide General Plan update, Ramella and other planning experts are paying special attention to the stadium area, which has been identified as a potential economic engine for the city and the region.

The industrial area is near three freeways and has no zoning allowances for apartments or homes. The biggest change will be to allow for a mix of residential, retail and office uses.

The General Plan update is still being finalized and will be considered by the City Council in late summer.

“I look across acres and acres and acres of vacant land sitting there and some of the most prime real estate in Southern California,” Ramella said. “You can combine parking, retail and office and create a very, very exciting environment and all I’m looking at is a parking lot.”

Several cities have used a variation of this model with great success. San Francisco reinvigorated its downtown by building a new ballpark. It is now surrounded by high-rise, luxury apartments and condominiums, chic bars and trendy restaurants.

Robert Lang, director of the Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech, said it’s not surprising Anaheim is trying to capitalize on the strength of its stadium and Arrowhead Pond.

“Any time one city does something right, every city thinks they can do it,” said Lang, who has studied Anaheim for a book he is writing about “boomburbs,” fast-growing suburban cities with populations of more than 100,000.

“There’s nothing wrong with the plan as Anaheim is conceiving it.”