Anaheim bulldozes deteriorating motel in effort to revitalize Beach Boulevard
Anaheim #Anaheim
The big claw on the long arm attached to a rumbling excavator hooked the roof of a second-floor room of the Covered Wagon Motel and yanked, pulling down stucco walls and roof tiles.
Another few swipes and the claw was eating into the room below, a rubble heap growing out of what was once a destination for families on vacation and businessmen on the road.
The city of Anaheim red-tagged the motel in March and completed a $6.6 million purchase of the property last month, teeing up Wednesday’s start to the demolition, cheered by city staffers gathered nearby in the parking lot as a sign of better things to come.
The motel is expected to be replaced with affordable apartments for rent and townhomes for sale; city spokesman Mike Lyster said the tearing down of the 70-room motel was expected to take little more than a day and the site would be cleared of the debris within a few more.
As a police officer made a final walkthrough to make sure the building was cleared, Mayor Ashleigh Aitken stood in front of the excavator and talked about the commitment to the community the demolition project represented, a commitment to clean up and revitalize Beach Boulevard, she said.
While once Beach Boulevard and its motels were neon-shining destinations between Los Angeles and the coast that helped launch Anaheim’s future as a tourism hub, city officials said in recent years several have become a last resort option for seniors and families needing a place to live, but also a magnet for illicit activity.
Anaheim police report responding to about 4,800 calls along Beach Boulevard last year, more than 9,000 in 2021 and 6,500 in 2020.
Lyster said once the city took over the Covered Wagon property it found drug paraphernalia, stolen goods and evidence of prostitution in several of the units, as well as families squeezed in, making homes out of the small rooms. Among the piles of mattresses and furniture that had already been pulled from the rooms and piled to the side on Wednesday, there was a kid’s skateboard, a video game controller and a laundry basket.
About 25 people were in the motel when the city red-tagged the building, but only about five rooms were being used by “real residents,” Lyster said, and they were helped to find new housing.
“They’ve all gone on to better places,” he said.
Aitken added that the “city takes relocation very seriously” and as revitalization projects are pursued by the city, people’s housing needs will be addressed.
Anaheim officials are currently helping about 10 households living in the neighboring Anaheim Lodge find new homes; the city also closed on the purchase of that property last month with plans for future housing.
The city counts 15 motels remaining along Beach Boulevard, and officials see a future for many that serve tourists, but there are more than the demand that exists for budget travel options, leaving some to struggle, Lyster said.
The Covered Wagon is the third Beach Boulevard motel demolished since 2017 and the city is working with property owners where needed to improve standards and address concerns, Lyster said.
Businesses and neighbors of Beach Boulevard have complained for years about growing issues, Aitken and Councilmember Jose Diaz, who represents that section of town, said Wednesday as they celebrated the progress the demolition represented.
“This is a neighborhood improvement project,” Diaz said. “This is the time where we start moving forward.”
Soon you’ll see moms feeling comfortable to be out pushing strollers down the street, residents moving into new affordable and attractive housing and businesses thriving, he said. “This is a new start.”
Anaheim leaders see the key to progress on revitalizing the major corridor – the logo is Rebuild Beach – as creating a mix of affordable housing and market-rate housing and creating an environment to support neighborhood retail, said City Manager James Vanderpool.
The city is able to use housing money to acquire some properties, targeting those with the most calls for service, he said, but is also using its economic development department to work with businesses and attract investment in the area.
“We made a commitment to the residents of West Anaheim,” Aitken said. “This is Anaheim in action. We are committed to not just redoing our motels that we are able to purchase, but going after state and federal funds to help us honor our commitment to building affordable housing and honor our commitment to the citizens and the small business owners.
“I envision not only the city getting involved in projects like this, but making it a destination where private investors want to be a part of that,” she said. “I think the more the city does to honor its commitment to invest in its own corridors, we are going to see private investment coming in and wanting to be a part of that growth.”
Heather McRea has worked for the Orange County Register for more than 15 years, starting in north Orange County and now spanning much of the county.