Digital billboards aim to revitalize Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade

Giant digital billboards being installed along Santa Monica’s once-gleaming Third Street Promenade are projected to bring a huge boost of cash to the city, but “character police” critics say it’s going to destroy the charm that made the area special.

The California Coastal Commission in April approved the installation of up to 16 digital displays along the Promenade and at Santa Monica Place, the Santa Monica Daily Press reported.

It comes after the Santa Monica City Council approved the ordinance to build the billboards, reversing a 1985 decision that banned off-site advertising.

The approval allows for the construction of billboards up to 1,000 feet each, with them remaining in place for 30 years. 

Images on X showed construction was already underway along the Promenade, with large metal mounting frames hanging across the tops of businesses and buildings.

The city has projected the digital displays could bring in between $3.5 million and $7 million in annual revenue, if all 16 boards are built.

Operators must pay a one-time fee of $500,000 per display, which will go up by 3% starting in June 2027.

But critics argue the displays “will change the very character that made the Promenade special,” the Santa Monica Mirror reported.

“How sad. Completely tarnishing the look of the promenade,” one person wrote in response to the news.

“Please start posting when these City Council meetings are. It’s like they’re single-handedly trying to destroy Santa Monica,” another person added.

“Nothing attracts people to a shopping area better than big black rectangles,” a third person wrote. 

Others suggested the reason businesses are gone is because the city is allowing “junkies and zombies” to roam freely, saying getting that under control would be a start to turn things around.

However, officials say the digital boards are necessary to provide a much needed cash boost to the area that’s struggled for years to lure back shoppers and businesses.

The city’s motion allows for the first 85 percent or $5 million from the boards to go towards boosting the city’s struggling economy, another 5 percent towards downtown revitalizations, with the remaining 10 percent towards paying back money borrowed from the Housing Trust Fund.

The addition of the giant billboards stands in stark contrast to the reimagined look shared by one tech entrepreneur of what the outdoor shopping center could look like with a full-blown botanical overhaul.

Tech founder Raad Mobrem took to X to share a striking, utopian rendering of the iconic open-air shopping corridor, reimagining the struggling concrete pedestrian strip as a lush garden oasis complete with vertical gardens, overflowing planters, a winding creek, stone paths, and curved stone seating areas.

The outdoor mall opened in 1965 and by the turn of the century it was the place to be to catch a movie, grab something to eat or soak in all the local street talent that were staples. 

Once a thriving retail and lifestyle destination, the Promenade has faced a rocky post-pandemic chapter marked by empty storefronts and a homeless population.

While local officials have recently pushed forward with revitalization initiatives, critics have argued the area lacks a bold rethinking in design.

In March, the city approved a new $3 million economic development fund earmarked in part for tenant improvement assistance, business recruitment, and capital renewal studies for Third Street Promenade. 

Last year, Santa Monica launched an “Entertainment Zone” along the Promenade, allowing those of legal drinking age to buy booze from participating businesses and carry their drinks outdoors within the designated zone.

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