Officials air concerns, plans to correct them
The Third Street Promenade doesn’t pass the “grandmother test.”
The analogy was used last week by Bayside District Corp. consultant Rob York, who said the outdoor mall’s economic viability rests partially on whether it’s convenient to come here.
That can be gauged by whether or not an elderly woman with her grandchildren feels comfortable finding her way around, feels safe and can easily find parking in Santa Monica.
Board members at the Bayside District Corp., which manages the downtown with the city, last week talked about their “big picture” plans and the most pressing issues facing downtown Santa Monica. Officials are worried about the economic future of Santa Monica’s downtown district.
Most agreed the Promenade is unsafe, dirty, inconvenient, has too many vagrants and too many chain stores. After airing the laundry list of issues, board members now plan to devise a strategy to fix the Promenade’s problems.
While the Promenade has quickly transformed to resemble many of its suburban counterparts, the strip still has unique qualities that draw millions of shoppers here every year, officials said.
But officials worry that Santa Monica is losing market share to shopping districts like downtown Pasadena and The Grove because the public perceives the Promenade as inconvenient and unsafe.
On the top of the priority list for most Bayside board members is finding a way to clean up the areas streets and alleys. Most Promenade visitors park in the downtown garages and access the mall through reeking alleys littered with trash and vagrants.
“I think families are staying away from the Promenade because they don’t feel safe,” said board member Bill Tucker, who listed vagrancy as his No. 1 issue. “It’s more than 10 years old. It looks tired. We need to reinvest.”
But it’s unlikely the city, which is in charge of maintaining the Promenade, will be able to put more resources toward the effort because of a growing budget deficit.
“The Promenade has to get control of its common areas,” said board member Henry Lichtman. “Alleyways are a much bigger issue than we are making it out to be. They are our front door and that’s what they see right when they get here.”
Mark Richter, head of the city’s economic development and a Bayside board member, suggested one option is to charge downtown businesses a higher assessment to pay for better maintenance.
However, cleaning up the area won’t necessarily rid downtown Santa Monica, often referred to as “The home of the homeless,” of its vagrant problem, a question officials continue to grapple with.
Bayside board chairman John Warfel told a recent story of a man who defecated on a tree trunk along the Promenade, just feet away from people dining at a restaurant.
“Things like that are going on,” he said. “Perception of safety and cleanliness will make or break us.”
Officials also consistently hear from residents and visitors that the lack of variety in downtown stores has weakened Santa Monica’s position in the market.
The Promenade’s lack of mom and pop shops has many Bayside officials concerned, but not much can be done about it since most of the corporate chain stores recently entered the scene and have long-term leases, Lichtman said.
“The concept of changing the mix is extremely remote,” he said.
That’s why Second and Fourth streets, which have a significant amount of empty spaces, should be geared toward attracting eclectic, locally-owned stores, officials say.
Wally Marks, a Bayside board member, said the Promenade has a perception problem but it’s still a draw for some people.
“Cookie cutter malls are not for everyone,” he said. “It isn’t add water and shake... we still have an urban environment.”
Board member Patricia Hoffman said she isn’t impressed with the Promenade’s so-called competitors and believes downtown Santa Monica offers something different. The Promenade’s street performers and other quirky features prevent it from becoming completely sterile, she said.
“I’ve been to Pasadena and The Grove and I find those places to be unpleasant and can’t imagine they compete with us,” she said. “But I am concerned that we have too many chain stores and high-end stores.”
Several board members said the Promenade has lost its competitive advantage also because its movie theaters have been ignored for years.
“I think the theaters are outdated and we need to find homes for stadium seating theaters,” Tucker said.
Board member Ann Greenspun said Bayside needs to develop a marketing plan to lure potential visitors from the region.
“What are we offering people who come from Santa Barbara or Palm Springs?” she asked. “No one has really talked about that.
“We need to be a destination for something here and how we package that with the pier and Santa Monica Place.”
Lichtman, who represents Macerich Corp., which owns Santa Monica Place, said his biggest priority is to have the indoor mall connect better with the Promenade. That could be accomplished by tearing down the entrance and extend the Promenade another block. (See related story.) Art Harris, another board member, suggested to his colleagues that Bayside should build off its current market segment, which appears to be drifting toward a younger population.
“Let’s remember to focus on our strengths too and not try to compete with The Grove. We are the choice for a certain market segment,” he said. “We have that edginess that families with strollers don’t want.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 31, 2003. Read the original PDF.