Ventura Economic Summit

The City Council will hold an Economic Summit next month in partnership with the Ventura Chamber of Commerce. The location is being finalized, but the time is set—from 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 2.

The goal is to update our current 2005-10 Economic Development Strategy and work to restore prosperity locally by more aggressive action. The current Economic Development Strategy focused on six areas:

• Auto Center: In the past five years, we successfully regained parity with Oxnard’s auto mall, but the entire industry is now contracting. The next stage for this area is completion of the long-planned Olivas Drive extension to open up major retail opportunities. This month, the Council will also be taking a look at future development along Johnson Drive on the other side of the freeway.
  

• McGrath Property: This was the only one of the “expansion areas” incorporated into our 2005 General Plan and we are moving forward in an active public-private partnership with developers Investec to create a new 80- acre jobs campus in the most job-rich part of our city.
  

• Westside: The bright promise of Westside revitalization has not yet materialized despite a number of positive developments, like Bell Arts factory, new housing and undergrounding of utility lines.
  

• Upper North Avenue: This area is slated for annexation and redevelopment, but the effort has not yet moved forward. It is slated to be launched later this year.
  

• Downtown: Despite some new vacancies in a tough economy, Downtown is probably the biggest success story of the past five years, with strong new tenants continuing to sign leases, an active Downtown Ventura Organization pushing a business improvement district and a new downtown office tower and the WAV project nearing completion. Later this month, the Council is expected to approve a new high-end hotel on the Promenade, part of an accelerating effort to link downtown to the beach, including an ambitious vision of capping the 101 Freeway.
  

• Anticipate our Future: This looked forward to the emerging new economy, but it’s been challenging focusing on tangible targets. This thrust represents the most exciting opportunity for us to deliver on the General Plan’s emphasis on “high value, high wage jobs.” Our incubator and foray into venture capital investment earned us ranking as #61 on Fortune Small Business’ list of cities “to live and launch.” With America going green, our area is primed to be a center of green business. Last year, our own Patagonia made the cover of Fortune Magazine as “The Coolest Company on the Planet.” While our location on the Central Coast makes us a higher cost place to do business, it also earns us a higher quality of life rating, which is important to green entrepreneurs. All businesses will be increasingly focusing on sustainability strategies.
  

These six elements by no means exhaust our opportunities. Our Visitor Bureau actively promotes tourism opportunities, not only downtown, but also at the harbor and as part of the larger regional draws in Ventura County and the Central Coast. Pacific View Mall continues to be our number one tax generator and we continue to pursue development of the eyesore at the north end of the mall. The bankruptcies of national retailers like Mervyn’s and Linens ‘n’ Things leave both empty storefronts and opportunities to attract national retailers like Best Buy.

And then there is the complex and emotion-laden issue of Walmart.

What’s critical, however, is that we refocus on what matters most and the upcoming Economic Summit is a major step in charting the strategy for the next five years. Old dividing lines are increasingly irrelevant in the new economy. The Council will be discussing staff’s recommended redesign of our Economic Development thrust as part of their follow-up to the recently completed budget discussions. We’ve done our share of cutting. Now we must look forward to protecting, strengthening and expanding the economic and revenue base of our community and city government. Opportunities often come disguised as problems. This economic downturn is one of those.

A strong turn-out is important not only from business interests, but other elements of the community as well. We not only need an Economic Development Strategy that makes sense for today’s challenges, but one with strong support throughout Ventura. Stay tuned for more details as we get closer to the May 2 date.