Downtown Santa Monica, Inc. Plans for Future Growth

By Jason Islas
Special to the Lookout

June 24, 2011 – Change is coming to town, and Downtown Santa Monica, Inc., the merchants association that represents the thriving business district, wants to be ready for it.

The association's Major Development Committee met Tuesday for an informal discussion of some of the dramatic transformations coming to Santa Monica in the near future and how to minimize the negative consequences of rapid growth for businesses and visitors.

The City should consider the best way to make sure that anyone who is visiting Santa Monica can get up-to-date information about what construction is going on, where it's happening, and the best way to get around it, Robert York of York Consulting Group, LLC told the group.

York emphasized the importance of making sure getting to Downtown Santa Monica doesn't become too difficult for visitors, who are essential for business to flourish.

“If you raise the bar too high,” he said, “people will do other things with their time and money.”

There is a whole information campaign in the works to help keep neighbors, businesses and guests informed of the best ways to get around Santa Monica during the construction, Assistant to the City Manager Kate Vernez told The Lookout Wednesday.

Though the campaign is in its very beginning stages, Vernez said that the City Manager's office is working with City TV and AM 1060, as well as looking into message boards, post cards and smart phone applications as a way of letting everyone know that Downtown Santa Monica will still be open for business during construction.

She hopes that the campaign will be in full swing by spring next year.

The most immediate project discussed by the committee was the demolition and rebuilding of Parking Structure 6.

The project was fast-tracked back in April when the City Council overturned the Planning Commission's decision against its construction.

Currently, the project is scheduled to start in spring 2012.

Once the project is complete, the City will have a net gain of 400 parking spaces, but while the project is going on, Downtown Santa Monica will be short 350 spaces.

And that won't be the end of it.

“We're going to be shuffling the deck on parking until the end of the 5th and Arizona project,” York said.

Considering the status of the project now, York said that it probably won't break ground until after the Expo line arrives in 2015.

The arrival of the Expo line, York says, is likely to pose major logistical issues for pedestrian traffic at 4th Street and Colorado Avenue, which is already considered by many one of Downtown Santa Monica's most frustrating intersections.

The specific plans for the Metro terminal aren't yet known, but York said the City may not get to have much input to Expo's plans. Expo is the agency created by the state to oversee the design and construction of the train service from Los Angeles to the sea.

“There are opportunities for impact but it's no small effort,” he said of Expo's inflexibility.

Besides the parking, a major concern regarding the construction in this area, which is near the youth hostel, Hotel Carmel and the Community Corps building, is noise, York said.

York suggested the committee talk to City staff about the construction hours and urged flexibility when it comes to what times of day construction takes place.

The committee also discussed the proposed AMC project which York called, “a very detailed proposed project.” He added, “I would like to lock them in at what they propose because it is a very good project.”

He explained to the committee that he thought they should “urge the city to conclude their business terms with AMC.”

The committee was unable to make any definite decisions on actions to take because they did not have a quorum Tuesday.