Is Downtown LA Moving in the Right Direction? Stakeholders Not So Sure

 Despite the pandemic being in the rearview mirror, downtown stakeholders are pessimistic that downtown is moving in the right direction, according to a survey conducted in February by the Downtown Center Business Improvement District. Survey analysts suggest a key factor is a perceived lack of progress on key challenges such as homelessness and violent crime.

         “When we first moved to downtown seven years ago, we voted for Measure HHH which promoters said would fund housing and other homeless services. It’s hard to point to any completed projects in and around South Park,” said a South Park resident. “No wonder stakeholders are skeptical.”    

         Good news in the report is that residential occupancy has returned to pre-pandemic levels and 68% of the respondents say they love living in downtown. Office occupancy continues to lag but is improving as SPNA reported in the last newsletter. And the number of visitors to downtown has returned to about nine million per month, roughly 10% less than pre-pandemic levels.

         Other interesting data – 62% of downtown residents are between the ages of 25 and 49. Residents are an educated group with 63% having a post-secondary education. Downtown continues to add residents with a 37% increase from 2010 to 2022. The increase could be due to the fact the 44% of residents walk/bike/transit or work from home an average of 3.5 days per week and want a downtown with mobility options, businesses, and services. Downtown has a 93% walkability score. However, 82% do want more supermarkets.

         Despite the good news, analysts said the survey should serve as a “wake-up call that urgent action is needed for Downtown to recover fully and reach its potential as a thriving urban center…if the sentiments expressed in this survey do not lead to decisive, tangible, and sustained actions and results, we put that future in peril.”

Note that other downtown LA surveys have shown that South Park is a safer and cleaner neighborhood as a whole than downtown LA in general.

         The full 24-page report may be accessed at https://downtownla.com/business/reports-and-research/dtla-2023

By Debra Shrout