US: Anaheim City Council has approved plans for the $4 billion ocV!BE mixed-use entertainment district.
The project will be built around the Honda Center, the home of the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks. Plans for the 95-acre development include a 5,700-seat concert hall, a 50,000 square-foot market hall, 20 acres of public space, two hotels totalling 650 rooms, approximately 1.1 million square feet of office space and 1,500 apartments with a 15 per cent affordable housing component.
The site is already home to the Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center (ARTIC), offering rail, bus, taxi and other transportation services to surrounding areas.
The development will include sustainability features such as rooftop solar panels on all the parking garages and a central utility plant which will provide energy efficiency throughout the campus, providing a 25 per cent savings in power usage. As a result, ocV!BE will seek LEED certification for all office, hotel and concert hall buildings. It will also seek WELL Building Standard certification for all commercial and residential buildings.
The Samueli Family, which currently owns the Anaheim Ducks and manages the Honda Center, is leading the development team. With this approval, construction of the project is scheduled to begin before the end of the year.
The project’s first phase is scheduled to open to the public in 2024. Developers expect to create approximately 10,000 new construction jobs and more than 3,000 permanent jobs upon its completion.
The goal is to complete the entire ocV!BE project before the 2028 summer Olympics in Los Angeles, when the Honda Center will host indoor volleyball.
