Demolition of the former Rainbow Inn motel on Beach Boulevard in Anaheim started Thursday, May 29, the last motel that needed to be cleared before a planned affordable housing community can be built.
The demolition marks the fourth motel Anaheim has torn down since 2021, city officials said. It’s all part of the city’s efforts to revitalize the corridor in West Anaheim, dubbed “Rebuild Beach,” by getting rid of blighted properties, increasing crime enforcement and bringing in new retail investment.
The city bought the motel in September for $6.9 million. Neighboring the Rainbow Inn on both sides were two other motels the city had purchased and demolished in the past three years.
The three motel lots will be combined into a 2.7-acre site where the city will seek to build 120 affordable apartment units plus another 15 for-sale townhomes. The townhomes will be sold at market prices, but assistance is expected to be provided for some first-time homebuyers.
Construction could begin in 2026.
Money from Disney into the city’s affordable housing trust will likely be used to help fund the development, along with more affordable housing at the northeast corner of Beach Boulevard and Lincoln Avenue, according to city officials. The plan for how $15 million from Disney should be used was set to be considered by the City Council Thursday evening.
The Rainbow Inn had 42 rooms and was built in 1984. It was among the motels left over from earlier years when the boulevard was a key link for travelers, but they have since outlived their usefulness as demand has fallen. In recent years, the properties have served more as housing-of-last-resort and also struggled as hotspots for illicit activity. The Rainbow Inn had a shooting in 2021 and has seen 120 arrests over five years, officials said.
About 10 long-term tenants were living at the Rainbow Inn and received some form of relocation assistance, city spokesperson Mike Lyster said. One person had to be evicted on April 8.
Since the building was cleared, the city has had onsite security and police have held training exercises there.
Crews began the demolition Thursday by knocking the bucket of an excavator into the motel’s walls in front of a crowd of city officials and U.S. Rep. Lou Correa, who provided $500,000 in federal funding for the acquisition and demolition.
Correa and Mayor Ashleigh Aitken both said the Beach Boulevard corridor in Anaheim has seen better days, recalling its popularity as an overnight destination for travelers headed to the coast before the county’s expansive freeway system took over.
Growing up in the 1980s, Aitken recalled that it was never considered a problem for her and her cousins to ride bikes down the sidewalk on Beach Boulevard to go to places like Knott’s Berry Farm or get Thrifty Ice Cream.
“And I think today’s children in District 1 deserve that safety and deserve that opportunity,” she said. “When we have problem properties, it not just destroys lives of the families living there, but it affects the surrounding neighborhoods.”
“We want new residents invested in Beach Boulevard,” Aitken said. “This is our city’s commitment to West Anaheim.”
District 1 Councilmember Ryan Balius, who represents the area in West Anaheim, said the demolition is another step in helping Beach Boulevard with its struggles with crime and blight.
“As you all know, for far too long, this corridor has been neglected,” he said to those gathered. “The demolition of the Rainbow Inn is a symbolic and shared commitment to transform this area into a vibrant, safe and thriving part of our city.”
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