Shoppers are spending more money than ever on the Third Street Promenade and throughout Santa Monica’s downtown district, despite noted deterrents like outdated parking structures and a large homeless population.
Those were among the findings of a survey of 800 area residents and downtown visitors released on Thursday. Downtown Santa Monica is defined as being situated between Wilshire Boulevard to the north and Colorado Avenue to the south, Second Street to the west and Lincoln Boulevard to the east.
Most shoppers polled spent between $40 and $77 on an average visit to downtown. That figure is considerably higher than in previous years, according to the report, which found many shoppers also frequent competing malls such as the Westside Pavilion, Century City Mall, the Grove, the Bridge and the Beverly Center.
Officials said they were encouraged by the results, which indicated that locals typically shop here more than once a week.
“The fact that most — in fact, virtually all — of the people surveyed... had been to the area in the year prior is actually phenomenal,” said Kathleen Rawson, executive director of the Bayside District Corp., a nonprofit that runs downtown with funding from City Hall. “Those are nice, healthy numbers.”
Most of the respondents said they visited downtown because they live or work nearby, an indication of the area’s residential growth, while fewer said they chose the area for its variety or quality of services — or to see a movie.
Rawson said the data wasn’t a surprise to Bayside board members, but it reaffirmed shoppers are happy with the mix of stores, but dissatisfied with the homeless population, lack of parking and aging movie theaters. She reiterated the board’s priorities, which are in line with what those surveyed want.
“Our market base for theaters has not eroded to the point of no return, but it is certainly imperative that the city and the community here aggressively pursue theater development in downtown,” Rawson said. “They need to be replaced with state-of-the-art, competitive movie theaters.
“It’s important that this happen now,” she added. “The development review process in Santa Monica is thorough. It will take some years to get this done... All the stars have to be aligned — these are property deals, these are development deals, the city is interested — I couldn’t give an estimate.”
“It’s important that this happen now. The development review process in Santa Monica is thorough.” — — KATHLEEN RAWSON Executive director, Bayside District Corp
Bayside paid CIC Research Inc. $27,000 to conduct the October survey, which consisted of interviewing 400 residents over the phone and 400 shoppers out and about. CIC conducted similar surveys for Bayside in 1997, ’98 and ’99.
Results also indicate that less international travelers and more people from throughout LA County were visiting downtown. Ernest Brazier, director of research for CIC, said despite the fact that Santa Monicans accounted for a smaller percentage of those stopped on the street in 2003, the general feeling is that more people from all groups are coming to downtown.
The demographics of those polled often differed from the average Santa Monican. For the telephone survey, which targeted households in Santa Monica and other westside areas, the median age was 45, the median income $74,600 and 48 percent owned their own home. Of those interviewed on the street — generally a younger and less affluent set — the median age was 33, the median income was $47,500 and 44 percent were homeowners.
Santa Monicans on the whole are still less affluent. According to an analysis of the 2000 Census performed by the RAND Corp., a national think tank based in downtown Santa Monica, only 28 percent of housing units within the city were owner-occupied. The median income was pegged at $50,714.
Kathleen Rawson
Executive director, Bayside District Corp.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 24, 2004. Read the original PDF.