Anaheim Scores a Positive Win With Approval of New Housing at Festival Center

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Anaheim got a rare piece of local news this month that feels both practical and optimistic.

After months of debate, the Anaheim City Council voted 4-3 on March 3 to approve a 447-unit apartment project at the Anaheim Hills Festival shopping center. The development would rise on the western end of the center, where the Regal Edwards Anaheim Hills movie theater closed in 2022. For a city facing constant pressure over housing, land use, and growth, the decision stands out as a clear sign that Anaheim is trying to solve real problems instead of letting a high-visibility site sit dormant.

That is what makes this story feel positive.

Anyone who has seen a shuttered commercial space linger for years knows how quickly inactivity can drain energy from an area. A vacant theater at a major shopping center is not just empty square footage. It becomes a visual reminder that the market has changed and that the property needs a new purpose. Anaheim’s answer was not to pretend nothing happened. It was to move the site into its next chapter.

And in this case, that next chapter is substantial.

The approved project calls for a four-story residential building wrapped around a five-level parking structure with one underground level. Plans also include a clubhouse, swimming pools, courtyards, a fitness center, and resident mail facilities. Just as important, the proposal includes a public dog park and public bluff park, meaning the project is not being framed as a sealed-off apartment block but as a redevelopment that adds something usable to the surrounding community as well.

That detail matters because this is not a story about bulldozing a neighborhood or paving over untouched land. It is about repurposing an already-developed part of the city. In planning language, that is infill development. In everyday language, it means Anaheim is trying to make smarter use of land it already has.

The rest of the Anaheim Hills Festival center is expected to stay in place. Existing businesses, including major retail anchors and restaurants, would remain. That creates a different kind of growth than the all-or-nothing projects people often fear. Instead of wiping out what works, the plan adds new residents near shops and services that already serve the area. More homes near an active center can mean more daily foot traffic, more support for local businesses, and more life in a space that already functions as a neighborhood destination.

Of course, this was not a friction-free decision.

Residents raised serious concerns during the public process, especially around wildfire danger and evacuation. More than 40 people spoke at the March 3 meeting, with most opposing the project and others supporting it. Those concerns shaped the discussion in a major way. Anaheim Fire & Rescue Chief Pat Russell addressed questions from council members, and the city said studies and analyses found the project, access, construction plans, and evacuation routes meet city code requirements, including standards for development in a high fire risk area. A development agreement also includes $200,000 from the developer for additional wildfire evacuation training and planning for Anaheim Fire & Rescue and the Anaheim Police Department.

That does not erase disagreement. It does show the city was not treating public safety as an afterthought.

There is also a larger Anaheim story underneath this vote. The city, like much of Southern California, needs more housing. Not in the abstract. Not in a talking-point way. In a real, everyday way that affects young adults trying to stay close to family, workers trying to live near jobs, and households looking for more options in an expensive region. According to city planning documents, this project would produce 447 units, including 45 moderate-income units, and help Anaheim make progress toward its broader housing goals.

That is why this approval matters beyond one shopping center.

It signals that Anaheim is willing to make difficult decisions about the future of its built environment. It shows the city is open to redeveloping underused commercial property instead of allowing high-profile vacancies to define major corridors. And it suggests that growth in Anaheim does not have to mean choosing between stagnation and chaos. There is a middle path: thoughtful reuse, housing where infrastructure already exists, and projects that attempt to add both residents and amenities to the places people already use.

The project still has another step ahead. According to the city, two ordinances tied to the approval require a second council vote at the March 24 meeting. But the key headline is already clear: Anaheim has chosen movement over drift. It has taken a vacant former theater site and pointed it toward a more active future. In a region where local news often feels dominated by conflict, delay, and frustration, that qualifies as a real civic win.

For Anaheim residents, that is the encouraging part. This is not flashy good news. It is useful good news. It is the kind of development story that says a city is still capable of adapting, solving, and building toward what comes next.