Santa Monica City Council discussed revitalization options for the Third Street Promenade
By Dolores Quintana
Over a quarter of the retail spaces on the Third Street Promenade are vacant, a troubling sign for what was once one of LA’s premier shopping destinations. At a recent Santa Monica City Council meeting, strategies were discussed on how to revitalize the area, including the potential establishment of an arts and entertainment district within the Promenade.
During the Santa Monica City Council meeting on January 24, one of the last items raised on the agenda was a request from Mayor Pro Tem Lana Negrete and Councilmembers Christine Parra and Oscar de la Torre.
The request asked that City Manager David White set up a meeting with Downtown Santa Monica (DTSM), which, according to the DTSM website, is a private 501c(3) non-profit organization that works with the City of Santa Monica to manage services and operations in Downtown Santa Monica while promoting economic stability, growth and community life within this unique neighborhood and the stakeholders in the area. While DTSM also manages the Property-based Business Assessment District bounded by Ocean Avenue to the west, Wilshire Boulevard to the north, Lincoln Boulevard to the east and the Santa Monica Freeway to the south, the most important mission for the 501c is the revitalization of the Third Street Promenade area of Downtown Santa Monica.
This discussion item was put to a voice vote and passed unanimously which will allow the issue to be added to a future city council agenda as an actionable item.
According to the Mayor Pro Tem and the councilmembers’ request, the focus of the meeting would be discussing and strategizing plans to revitalize the Third Street Promenade that would include the establishment of an arts and entertainment district in the 1200 block of the Promenade, expanding outdoor dining opportunities, promoting available spaces and developing opportunities, zoning code amendments, expand allowable uses and opportunities to partner DTSM with street performers.
Mayor Pro Tem Negrete said that she did not mean to imply that such plans were not in the works already, but that she and the other council members felt that there needed to be a process put in place and that they wanted to state what they have been hearing from the community members who have spoken about on the issue especially since the occurrence of vacancies hasn’t stopped on the Promenade.
“We want to bring everybody together to the table because we know there are separate meetings and separate groups that have different ideas so that we can really be innovative and do what we can as a city to make anything possible to get back our promenade as we move forward in this quest for economic recovery. We need to lean into this partnership to reinvest in the Promenade so we can continue to evolve and be the iconic destination that is beloved by Santa Monica residents and visitors from across the region and globe,” Negrete said.
Negrete also said that all the options that were on the table like making the last block of the Promenade an entertainment block or lowering prices on rent to make the spaces more affordable. She wants to make sure that businesses are aware of that because she only recently learned that landlords were lowering prices and she realized that many businesses might not yet be aware of the opportunities that this represents for businesses to open in the space.
Councilmember Christine Parra thanked staff and said that they want to continue to think outside of the box and knock down the barriers and really invigorate the Promenade. She added that she wants the city council to be the conduit to help bring new businesses into the Promenade and do it within the parameters of the law. She also stated that she would like to get regular updates on the progress and would give additional direction if needed.
Councilmember de la Torre said that “We saw the airport presentation, we looked at it on an international scale, what’s working throughout other parts of the world. I think we need to do the same thing here with the Third Street Promenade; what’s working on a regional level, a national level and an international level and bring those best practices to the Promenade.
The next council member to speak was Phil Brock who said, “I think, first, we need to think innovatively and act innovatively. And in this motion, we cannot forget the role of safety and cleanliness, of making sure that not the Promenade and that 1200 block feel safe, but the transit corridors and the walking corridors for our residents to that block be safe. Again, the Promenade is, first and foremost, for our residents.
Over a quarter of the retail spaces on the promenade are currently vacant, however DTSM CEO Andrew Thomas is optimistic that a public-private partnership could help revitalize the Promenade.
“Any vacancy on the Third Street Promenade is a concern, and the levels we are experiencing today are certainly higher than we’ve experienced in the recent past. However, the Promenade has had dips in the past and it has successfully reinvented itself thanks to the private-public partnership between our commercial property owners and the City of Santa Monica,” Thomas said.
