Macerich Co. wanted to draw more traffic to its open-air Santa Monica Place mall.
The Zimmer Children’s Museum wanted a new home that was easier for families to get to than its current Miracle Mile location.
That’s how the Santa Monica-based commercial real estate company and the nonprofit Zimmer Children’s Museum started on the path to a recently struck deal that has the museum taking space at the high-end mall at the end of the Third Street Promenade, with an opening expected before the end of the year.
Zimmer Children’s Museum Chief Executive Esther Netter expects that the larger space – 20,000 square feet versus its current 13,000 square feet – and having the new downtown Santa Monica Expo rail station across the street and two parking structures will more than triple its annual visitor count in the first year to 250,000 from its current 80,000. “We were looking for a new site that was very visible, with increased access to families and people all across the city,” said Netter.
The museum might also benefit from the city’s massive visitation numbers for downtown – about 16 million people in 2016. The visitor traffic brought in $1-plus billion in taxable sales, according to Downtown Santa Monica Inc., which represents the businesses.
Santa Monica Place accounted for more than $200 million in annual taxable sales in 2016, the most recent data available. Macerich, which has a $9.8 billion market cap, hopes the museum will help draw more traffic and boost sales.
Julia Ladd, an assistant vice president for property management at Santa Monica Place, and also chair of Downtown Santa Monica Inc., said she expected the museum to work with other tenants to generate revenue, as well as offer potential event space.
“We see exponential growth for them and us in terms of partnerships,” said Ladd.
The Santa Monica mall has seen some turnover of its own in recent years.
Macerich wouldn’t comment on the current occupancy rate at Santa Monica Place other than to say “the majority of our GLA (gross leaseable area) is spoken for.”
Gabe Kadosh, vice president of retail services at downtown’s Colliers International Group Inc., said the museum will likely help by routing visitors to the museum past stores and restaurants.
“I think it will draw a lot of people there,” said Kadosh. “It’s unique.”
– Caroline Anderson
