> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Downtown Santa Monica Looks Forward: Debbie Lee’s Vision for the District’s Next Chapter - URL: https://www.smdp.com/downtown-santa-monica-looks-forward-debbie-lees-vision-for-the-districts-next-chapter/ - Published: 2026-10-22T10:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-22T09:59:59.000Z - Author: Michelle Edgar - Tags: Business, Downtown Santa Monica With major events on the horizon and new data showing gains in spending and visitation, Downtown Santa Monica is shifting its focus from recovery to reinvestment, experience and long-term growth. For years, much of the conversation surrounding Downtown Santa Monica has centered on what it lost from vacant storefronts, public safety concerns, changing shopping habits - the pandemic-era decline of one of Southern California’s most recognizable retail districts. DTSM's CEO Debbie Lee wants to change the conversation, focusing not just on bringing the district back, but on defining its next chapter, and using data, programming and a more proactive approach to operations to get there. “We really needed to shift into a proactive model,” Lee said. That shift begins with some of the least glamorous but most consequential elements of managing a downtown: cleanliness, maintenance and public safety. Instead of responding to problems after they are reported, Lee said DTSM has been recalibrating its operations to identify and address them earlier. “Cleaning things before people notice them versus cleaning after somebody’s reported it, that’s a very different scenario,” she said. The same philosophy now extends across the organization. Increasingly, decisions about where DTSM deploys resources, what kinds of events it produces and how it measures success are being informed by data. Some of those numbers are beginning to tell a different story about Downtown Santa Monica than the one that has dominated public perception. Santa Monica’s six weeks of FIFA World Cup programming this summer became an important real-world experiment. The activations brought crowds into Downtown and Third Street Promenade, but for Lee, the more important question was what those visitors actually did once they arrived. DTSM is tracking metrics including visitation, average daily spending, transaction size, number of transactions and dwell time to see how long visitors remain in the district. In July, Lee said average daily visitor spending across Downtown was slightly above $120, with visitors averaging approximately 1.7 transactions. Third Street Promenade recorded average daily spending of more than $110 per visitor, representing a 12.5% year-over-year increase. Overall spending on the Promenade increased 11.2% year over year, while the average transaction approached $75. The results reinforced something Lee believes will shape DTSM’s strategy going forward: major activations can provide powerful moments that draw people Downtown, while lighter-touch programming gives them additional reasons to return. “Activations work to spark interest,” Lee said. “The lighter-touch events and the surprise and delight create a reason for people to come back time and time again.” Rather than viewing the two approaches separately, DTSM sees larger-scale events and recurring, lighter-touch activations as complementary. Major events can introduce or reintroduce audiences to Downtown, while smaller experiences help create the consistency and familiarity that encourage repeat visits. That distinction is becoming particularly important as Santa Monica considers the opportunities surrounding an extraordinary sequence of global events coming to Southern California, including the Super Bowl and the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. “We also need to look at how we’re getting people to come every single day,” Lee said. “We want people to come over and over and over again.” August offered another encouraging data point. Approximately 2.4 million people visited Downtown Santa Monica during the month, according to figures Lee shared, representing nearly a 20% increase from the previous August. Third Street Promenade recorded approximately 380,000 visitors, a roughly 2% year-over-year increase despite construction affecting a portion of the district, but Lee cautions against judging the health of Downtown by foot traffic alone. “If foot traffic is down but spend is up, what does that mean?” she said. The more complete picture, she argues, emerges when visitation is considered alongside spending, transactions and dwell time. The longer someone stays Downtown, the greater the opportunity to have another meal, visit another retailer, attend an event or make another purchase. That makes dwell time an economic-development strategy. Programming isn’t simply about filling a calendar. It is designed to give people reasons to remain Downtown longer and return more frequently, supporting existing businesses while creating the conditions to attract new investment. The biggest shift in Lee’s strategy is philosophical. For a district long associated with tourists, Lee believes Downtown Santa Monica’s strongest foundation must be the people who live nearby. “We want residents to come here and use Downtown as their downtown,” she said. “And then, of course, we want to welcome the rest of the world to come and enjoy what our locals love.” DTSM is using spending and visitor data to better understand who is already coming Downtown and which businesses resonate with them. Lee points to the concentration of activewear, wellness, beauty and specialty businesses and a customer base heavily represented by adults between roughly 18 and 44 with active lifestyles, which is influencing both programming and business attraction. It is also informing smaller-scale events designed to make Downtown feel less like a destination reserved for special occasions and more like part of residents’ everyday lives. DTSM’s “Forever Summer” series, for example, takes advantage of Santa Monica’s year-round outdoor climate with Wednesday and Saturday programming surrounding the farmers market, including seating, music and food. Monthly Block Fest events bring evening activity to the district, while seasonal programming including Oktoberfest, Halloween activities and the return of the ice rink create opportunities for traditions that can bring residents back repeatedly. Together with larger-scale activations, those recurring experiences are intended to create a rhythm Downtown, moments that draw new audiences alongside regular programming that gives them a reason to return. The image of empty storefronts remains one of the most persistent challenges facing Third Street Promenade. Lee doesn’t dismiss the concern, but says the reality is more nuanced. The Promenade is approximately 80% leased, she said, with some leased spaces still appearing vacant because tenants are in various stages of permitting, construction and build-out. Additional businesses are preparing to open, while Lee says DTSM is hearing increased interest from the brokerage community in Downtown and particularly Third Street Promenade. Pop-ups are another piece of the strategy. Brands can use temporarily available storefronts to introduce products, create experiences and test the Santa Monica market without immediately committing to a traditional long-term lease. Neutrogena recently used the Promenade for a 30-day activation surrounding new skincare and sun-care technology, exactly the type of temporary brand presence Lee would like to attract more frequently. Rather than viewing every available storefront solely as evidence of vacancy, DTSM is increasingly looking at some of that space as an asset that can be programmed while longer-term investment takes shape. Lee acknowledges that Downtown Santa Monica softened in recent years. But she believes the perception of the district has, in some cases, fallen further than the reality. “Much of that is true, while the other part is exactly that, a perception.” From her office overlooking Third Street Promenade, Lee sees something different from the image of an empty district. “Every single day I look down on the street, and it’s bustling,” she said. “It’s not nearly what we want it to be, but we are building back and there are people who are enjoying coming to our Downtown. We see that in the numbers.” Cleanliness and safety remain central to that effort, and Lee credits the City of Santa Monica’s investment and partnership as critical to improving conditions. Changing perception also requires giving people a reason to experience Downtown for themselves - that is where the next several years could become transformative for the district. DTSM’s Board recently voted to focus the organization’s efforts, in collaboration with key stakeholders, around three key areas: Next Generation: Third Street Promenade, Access and Business Development, Major Events, and the DTSM, Inc. Management Plan. Those priorities provide a framework for how the organization approaches Downtown’s next chapter: rethinking the Promenade and strengthening the business environment, positioning the district to capitalize on major events, and ensuring DTSM has the management structure necessary to support the district’s longer-term evolution. Major global events offer Downtown Santa Monica an opportunity not only to generate economic activity, but to reintroduce the district to residents, visitors, investors and brands. For Lee, however, the goal is larger than successfully hosting a series of events, but what remains afterward. The World Cup demonstrated that programming can move people and spending. The next phase is turning those moments into habits getting a visitor to stay longer, a resident to return next weekend, a business to renew its lease, a brand to open a pop-up and, eventually, an investor to make a longer-term commitment. That is the Downtown Lee and DTSM are working to build - one that is cleaner and more proactive, driven by measurable results but animated by experiences, rooted first in its local community and ready to welcome the world. “We want Santa Monica to re-embrace Downtown as their Downtown,” Lee said. As Southern California moves toward another unprecedented cycle of global attention, that may be the most important measure of Downtown Santa Monica’s next chapter.