“What would you like to see move into the large hole that will be left when Robinsons-May closes up shop?” ✆“With the announced closing of the Robinsons-May store in 2006, one can only wonder what devious plans are going on behind the scenes in our city administration offices. Certainly nothing that will really benefit the taxpaying citizens. Remember when they voted down the great Target store plan and the Trader Joe’s? That’s what we need, stores like that. But what will we get? Which ever upscale chain kicks in the most under-the-table money.” ✆“The biggest problem with Santa Monica is the horrific traffic congestion, especially in that area around the Santa Monica Pier, the mall and the Third Street Promenade which is adjacent to the mall. If you were to put a very popular store in there, the three most popular stores today are Big Lots, Ross and Target. If you were to put any one of those three stores in there, it would be a gold mine for the owner but it would also create the most horrific traffic jam, and they do not have adequate parking at the mall. They never have had adequate parking at the mall. It’s a very confusing form of parking that they have at the mall. So my suggestion primarily, would be not to not do anything with the big open hole. Just leave it a big open hole and eliminate the traffic congestion.” ✆“Since they want to tear down Santa Monica Place anyway, it doesn’t really matter what goes in the old Robinsons May space. But if they do get something they should have a Target store since all the mom-and-pop stores are gone from Santa Monica. The only stores in Santa Monica now are overpriced chain stores anyway, so if it puts a few of them out of business it’s no loss but not Wal-Mart because Wal-Mart is evil.” ✆“Yes, I think it would be wonderful to open up the Santa Monica Place mall to different businesses like organic foods, maybe a Williams Sonoma, and like maybe Greek food, Turkish food, some Jewish food. Maybe a Wal-Mart, whatever, we need to make Santa Monica revitalized.” ✆“I’d like to see a Wal-Mart, a Target or an upscale Penny’s where the Robinsons May currently is.” ✆“I think that having a Target in Santa Monica since we were deprived of one a few years ago would be a terrific project downtown and it would be good shopping for most residents and even tourists and visitors.” ✆“I like Bobby Shriver’s idea of buying the building. The city should be the one to profit instead of the shopping mall developer. And it’s a lot better idea than throwing more money at the homeless bureaucracy, his other idea.” ✆“Because two first-class department stores can no longer be supported due to the Mexicanization of the economy, it is only fitting that the vacant space be turned into an illegal alien, i.e. Mexican Bazaar. I envision multitudes of small mystery meat taco stands, shoddy furniture stalls, junk jewelry tables, fake ID and drivers license vendors, etc. And the city could set up counseling booths to assist in getting welfare, ADC, Medicaid, medical, whatever, disability, etc. Do I have vision or don’t I?” ✆“The question this week is an easy one. I would like to see when Robinsons May moves out that we bring in something that will be beneficial to Santa Monica. Either Target, which would be very nice there, or even JC Penny which originally was on the Promenade up towards the corner at Wilshire. They would be very beneficial to everyone in Santa Monica.” ✆“I would like to see either a Target or a Wal-Mart move into that space. I know it’s not generally the kind of configuration they are interested in but it might be an opportunity for them and it might be something good for the mall.” ✆“Into the hole, the large hole, the city manager, the assistant city manager, each and every council member, and Randy Brant. Then cover it up and put a public park on the spot.” ✆“Let’s see — Titanic, Hindenberg, Santa Monica Public Library and now Robinsons May. I can see this coming from a mile away. The city will use Robinsons as the largest day-care in the country, keeping the bleeding hearts in this town happy taking care of somebody else’s child from another town. It will be in keeping with our Socialist philosophy. Or a new homeless shelter. Not only would we have another 500 non-workers given a place to sleep, but we could put all the parasitic non-profit, homeless outreach organizations under one roof. That would keep them out of the way of the Salvation Army and the Union Reps Commission doing the really hard work keeping the homeless downtown LA. You need to think about putting condominiums in this space to help support the cost of Santa Monica Place. The more important thing for the city, needs to find a way to connect the mall to the new Santa Monica Place, no building over three stories, and then connect it to the Rand development and then on through to Pico Boulevard and Ocean Avenue so that will include the hotels on Ocean Avenue. I like a monorail. Nothing says futuristic like a monorail. But if that connection/transportation doesn’t work, how about donkey taxis to the mall? No CO2 and the emissions can be used to fertilize open space and if you are too large or have too many groceries we can use a bull instead.” ✆“I think that you should bring back a JC Penny’s to take over for Robinsons May. Sounds good.” ✆“To replace Robinsons-May I suggest Target. We missed out about six years ago and I think it’s about time we had a discount store in the area.” ✆“For myself, I would love to see a Target store going into that vacancy. I’m sure that a lot of people had their heart set on having a Target near or into the old building on the corner there at Fourth and Arizona. We were very disappointed when we didn’t get it. So that’s the main thing I would be interested in. I can’t get to a Target anywhere else because I don’t drive, I’m disabled, so this would be very good for me and I’m sure a lot of other people too.” ✆“Well, you know, the big Eddie Bauer store that was so great has been empty for I guess almost two years now and all the cool stores are gone and replaced with something like Forever 21 which about says it for Santa Monica. So you know, what to put when Robinsons May closes up? I’ll quote a great movie and say, ‘Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn.’”
Q-LINE, from page 4 ✆“Four years or five years ago the city wouldn’t give us Target because they said it would cause too much traffic. Well, now they own the parking structure where Robinsons May is. They can give us a Target. We need affordable shopping in this town. They keep talking about affordable housing, but there’s no affordable place to shop. The 99 Cent store is just too small and the parking there is crazy. But it’s packed any day of the week at anytime when you go there. A Target would fit the bill for what all of us who live and work in Santa Monica need.” ✆“I would like to see a large Target store go up where Robinsons-May is now because we do not have any stores in Santa Monica due to the fact that we have the worst City Council people we ever had. We got rid of one man — Mike Feinstein — now we gotta get rid of them all because we need a Target store. We have no place we can shop in this town for the senior citizens, the poor people. All we got is big stores that are owned by all these companies. Lets get a Target store put in. We had an opportunity years ago and the City Council threw it away.” ✆“I would like to see a day center for children living in the area of Santa Monica with a staff of professional teachers in different languages, music, arts and, of course, reading and math. Probably on the weekends they can use it for people that are shopping and they leave their kids there. Probably would be expensive but that you have to figure out and people will pay because it’s for the good of their own children.” ✆“I would like to see a Wal-Mart or a Target replace Robinsons. It’s time there be more shopping for the working-class families and seniors and low income people of Santa Monica.” ✆“I’d like to see a Trader Joe’s because none of the Trader Joe’s in our neighborhood have enough parking and I think there is probably enough parking there at the Santa Monica mall.” ✆“They should replace the Robinsons-May with a Midnight Special to bring that store back. With the extra space they could have even more guest speakers and books.” ✆“Santa Monica College should open a satellite campus in the mall. It would only be a few blocks south of the emeritus college and perhaps that could be expanded so they could offer more services to people that come to the mall. Perhaps even a class that relates to the commerce that’s on the Promenade and this mall.” ✆“Since all Macerich ever does nowadays is poll residents to see how they can convince them to expand the mall, perhaps Macerich should open its own store there, its own polling center full time in its own mall and could save on the rent and combine all the services so that they could combine the lobbying operations with their retail operations and retail stores.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 13, 2005. Read the original PDF.