Developer plans to build $500M project next to Angel Stadium

ANAHEIM, Calif. (KABC) -- A Chinese developer plans to build a $500 million project on a 15-acre vacant lot located next to Angel Stadium in Anaheim.

The developer, LT Global Investments, said the project would be similar to L.A. Live, but unique to Orange County.

In 2007, the city had big plans for the area, which is also called the "platinum triangle." But the recession hit, causing the plans to be shelved.

LT's plan calls for a high-rise apartment building, a hotel, a shopping center, restaurants and even an indoor surf park.

The company's executive director of project development, Randy Jefferson, spoke with Eyewitness News over the phone.

"It's an opportunity to create an urban area that doesn't currently exist in Anaheim," he said.

But the Angels do not want the development next to the stadium.

The team wrote a letter to the city saying the project "should not be processed or approved." The team cites the plan's need to use 2,000 parking spots in the Angels' lot, and goes on to explain that the design "fundamentally conflicts" with the original plan for the land.

"It wasn't the question of taking something from the Angels. It was a question of saying, 'Listen, you have a lot of space that isn't being used. We're willing to pay for the use of it,'" Jefferson said.

City officials said once a formal proposal is submitted, it will take at least one year before it would be up for approval.