Thanks for this comment. It’s insightful, articulate, and presents a compelling argument. Who doesn’t hate cheap beer?
Gracie is wonderful — the avocado toast & tuna melt for lunch delicious, large portions & wonderful team from Chef Richard on
The improvement committee should also focus on cleaning the walkways & parking lots steps, they are filthy!
Building owners should be required to clean the area in front of their buildings
DB you are absolutely correct that ecommerce is killing retail business. With that in mind, who then is going to rent all the empty stores on State street?
I would disagree with the homeless refuge since I’ve noticed that not forcing people to walk in the sidewalk has made it more challenging for the homeless to panhandle and block the sidewalk.
Downtown was worse before Covid and we had one of the highest vacancy rates of any coastal downtown area- so you want to go back to that?
I work on State Street and have for the last 20+ years.
Well said Albert!!
From an AI search, this was an interesting summary of pedestrian zone success rates:
Most cities that "restreeted" their pedestrian zones have experienced a positive "rebound" effect.
Retail Occupancy & Sales: Reopening to cars often triggers a spike in business. For example, when Oak Park Mall (Illinois) was reopened to traffic, retail sales rose 24% within one year, and the occupancy rate increased from 75% to 80%.
Safety & Perception: Reintroducing cars provides "eyes on the street" at all hours, reducing the perception of the area as deserted or dangerous.
The "Main Street" Success: Cities like Providence (Westminster Street) and Raleigh (Fayetteville Street) transitioned from failing malls to successful "Main Streets" by allowing multi-modal traffic, which now supports a flourishing, revitalized downtown."
Talk to retail brokers, they will tell you. Whether the retailers are right or wrong about it doesn't matter, that's predominantly their position. SB is a tough market as it is.
Show me 5-10 retailers willing to open on state if the street was open and you’ll change my mind. Unfortunately no one can show that. The street being open wouldn’t change a thing.
Well said. Take the example of the Santa Barbara County Courthouse and sunken gardens built by visionaries at a considerable expense at the time (and worth it in my opinion) and compare it to the piece of 1970s dreck architecture in the county building across the street.
I agree. I saw 2 people urinating on State St. One at night and one in the middle of the day. Unbelievable. Where are the police on floor patrol?
"While there’s an argument to be made that any tenant is better than an empty storefront, and big retail spaces face immense challenges these days, I’m not sure this counts as a win for that block, one of the better ones on the promenade "
National retailers, the only ones really capable of taking on such a large space, don't want to open on a street closed to traffic, certainly not one in such limbo as ours. So this is what we get. Personal feelings on the promenade may vary, particularly those who love a leisurely bike ride down State without actually conducting meaningful commerce, but that's how actual businesses are looking at State Street - which is supposed to be our "commercial" core.
How many in your friend group own or work at a customer facing business downtown?
The downmarket trend of Santa Barbara has been happening for decades. The city sold its soul to tourism years ago and the results are a steady decline in quality and value. When you appeal to the lowest common denominator, you end up with the lowest common denominators.
Meanwhile, CVR is thriving as retail and restaurants want to be where the money and the vibes live (yes I know CVR is technically under the rule of SB, but is it really?). Regardless of its overlords, the market responded accordingly.
The reality is the demographics of the avg SB resident does not warrant an investment in high end anything. Santa Barbara is a city full of low income immigrants, low income students and multi generational mediocrity. The money is in the peripheral, not downtown and the market has responded to this fact.
The only way out of this mess is to grow the incomes and job base downtown by offering businesses an opportunity to build here. Rising tides lift all boats! But there is nothing more antithetical to the people who run SB than economic growth via business and good old fashioned innovation. Instead, they want to give away more and more while taking in less and less. Your money, your town, their feelings…
The pathway is to foster startups and provide professional entities a foothold. Offer them free rent, offer them tax incentives, anything to start up and build something here. We need a path for the thousands of highly educated and capable graduates that our area produces every year to stay here. To grow a family here. To build a community. To earn a living here. To be able to afford to live here!
But instead of seeding the future, building long term viability, the city panders to tourism and its low skilled low wage service jobs and promotes reduction in services, tax increases and fee adjustments as a path!
So, yes, State St will continue to slide downmarket as 99c stores, funny socks and t-shirts, vintage clothing and cheap beer/ wine are what the market actually supports. The proof, as they say, is in the pudding.
State Street is just returning to its original form. Before the Verizon lease deal that changed the landscape of State, it was just a street filled with mostly resale shops and thrift stores. If landlords might worry about their property valuations they might need to look within and see the impact of their own hand on their demise.
The promenade is a failure because the homeless numbers there increased so much there and businesses closed during the pandemic. It seems to be slowly improving with increased security and SM trying to entice businesses back with allowing open carry on the promenade, which many aren’t happy about.
Seth, a lot of us wanted and still want the promenade. Just because the people you know don’t doesn’t mean your thinking is universal.
Same. In my friend and work groups, this is mostly well received.
Sea Change was a very good album and anything in that direction is welcome.
If Dina's involved, it will be lovely!
right behind the beach house, next to the Segway rental place?
I pulled up to Funk Zone South Coast Deli at 11am and was surprised to find a few parking spots in the lot. Since I work in the FZ I know parking enforcement is like the Carrillo location. . . hardly any enforcement. Yellow & Red zones are more like, "Parking for those running in to pick up." I got my Cobb salad to go but the inside and outdoor patio are really nice.
You need to talk to more locals. I have some little squabbles with the plan but mostly love it.
The original farmers market on Coast Village Road is pretty limited, so I see Monte’s as being value additive. I’m more likely to shop at both now, than I was to go shop at the 5-6 stands at the original
Try Gracie's Rockfish tacos!
