City trying to create opportunities on nearby streets
City officials want shoppers to wander off the Third Street Promenade and still spend their money downtown.
They’re pushing for the expansion of retail outlets and restaurants along Santa Monica’s supporting roadways, where merchants say things are slowly improving.
Vacancy rates on Second and Fourth streets, as well as along the east-west corridors, are close to 10 percent, said Rob York, a consultant. In contrast, only about two percent of ground floor spaces on the Promenade are currently unfilled, York said.
“It’s probably a little more stagnant than it’s been in a little while,” York said, referring to the overall health of business downtown. “In order to hold our own, it’s going to involve some further development on Second and Fourth.”
York said the Bayside District Corp., the non-profit that runs downtown in conjunction with the city, is pushing for better lighting, more prominent signage and other improvements that will help draw shoppers off the Promenade and onto the supporting roadways, where more and more merchants are replacing ground-floor office space.
Art Harris, a Bayside board member, said business on the streets surrounding the Promenade is bound to improve. He described what he called the “doughnut effect,” where rising rents on the Promenade will lead to increased business activity on the periphery.
“We’re a small town and we’re in the early stages of it,” said Harris, who oversees the board’s roughly $900,000 annual budget. “There are some spots that are doing fine. And there are other areas that are just dead.”
William Bubar, owner of Bubar’s Jewelers, a downtown merchant for nearly 60 years, appears to have followed Harris’ trend. After 25 years on the Promenade and 22 years in Santa Monica Place, Bubar in November moved his shop to a spot on Fourth Street near Broadway.
“There has to be some sort of effort to synergize and make people turn the corners,” said Bubar, who added that further attention to parking, congestion, lighting and homeless concerns were needed to make Fourth Street a real destination. “And we want to get the locals back. I think Fourth Street has more of a family-oriented potential.”
Though some merchants are closing their doors in Santa Monica, York said those on their way out are balanced by a number of new businesses that are currently considering moving to downtown.
On Fourth Street, York said a small athletic chain is currently looking at an open space at the intersection of Fourth Street and Santa Monica Boulevard. Circuit City is scheduled to open at Fourth and Arizona Avenue this fall.
In addition, two development projects are currently underway on Fourth Street that should bring more retailers and restaurants to the area by the end of the year.
The first project, between Santa Monica Boulevard and Broadway on the east side of Fourth Street, is an overhaul of the old Friedman’s Furniture building. The units are expected to be available by the end of the year, with retailers moving in shortly thereafter, York said.
The second, which is currently in the entitlement process, is between Arizona Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard. York said pedestrian-oriented merchant spaces will fill the rear of the old US Bank building.
Second Street also appears to be doing well. While a new Asian art gallery is being constructed on the 1400 block, York said other merchants are showing serious interest. Among them is an outdoor apparel shop based in Santa Barbara, a start-up New York-style fresh produce market and a handful of others.
All in all, residents can expect a great deal of turnover over the next six to 12 months, York said. But occupancy rates should stay relatively constant.
“If they all move in, we’ll be ahead of the game,” York said. “But there are a couple of players that may drop out.”
The Midnight Special bookstore, which recently left its spot on the Promenade, is also looking at a location on Second Street as well as spots in other nearby cities. City officials said they hope to keep the popular bookstore in Santa Monica.
“We’re hopeful,” said Mark Richter, the city’s economic development manager. “We’re trying to create opportunities for smaller retailers, and cafes and merchants.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 7, 2003. Read the original PDF.