From a patio table at a Main Street restaurant in El Cajon, Marco Li Mandri can see a large mattress store, a coffee shop and a building under construction across the street.
But most of all, he said, he sees potential.
“I look at the form and then the content,” he said. “You have great wide sidewalks. You have really good landscaping. You have a great lighting infrastructure. It’s got all those elements to make something work.
“So the form of making everything work is here. It’s now a question of building up the content.”
By content, Li Mandri means more residential units and more restaurants in downtown El Cajon, among other things.
A study he conducted two years ago found 18 eateries in the district, with half of those fast food, and Li Mandri sees a need for about a dozen more sit-down restaurants to revitalize downtown.
It’s a formula he said his company, New City America, has proven successful, most notably in the revitalization of San Diego’s Little Italy neighborhood, and it’s one he says could do the same for El Cajon as he takes the helm of Downtown El Cajon Business Partners as its newly hired executive director.
The hire comes at what could be a turning point for the DECBP. At a workshop last month, City Manager Graham Mitchell said he would recommend the city terminate its relationship with the partners if they did not hire a professional firm to lead it.
DECBP assesses property owners in a district that includes Main Street and Magnolia Avenue, and the funds are used for security, cleaning and events such as the Classic Car Cruise.
The activities are intended to bring people downtown and stimulate businesses, but property values have been stagnant compared to other areas in the county, and Mitchell said many property owners in the district feel they are not getting their money’s worth and may not vote to continue it when it is up for renewal next year.
The hire also comes at a time when the City Council has taken its own steps to stimulate activities downtown, including a decision last year to lift a decades-old law that restricted the number of bars, allowing for at least two more to open.
Among the changes Li Mandri sees ahead is converting the DECBP’s IRS classification from a 501(c)(6) used by entities such as chambers of commerce and real estate boards to a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, which he said will lead to more revenue from donors seeking tax deductions.
Since New City America took over management of Third Avenue Village Association’s business assessment district in Chula Vista in 2021 and changed it to a 501(c)(3), the association’s annual budget has increased from $540,000 to $900,000, Li Mandri said.
He anticipates the DECBP’s budget could increase from $525,000 to $700,000, enough to cover New City America’s $150,000 annual contract.
Other changes in Chula Vista over the last few years include a new Lemon Festival, the revival of the Starlight Parade, a Día de Muertos event, a Mexican Independence Day celebration, a Christmas tree lighting ceremony and more tables and umbrellas on downtown sidewalks.
In El Cajon, Li Mandri said he would like to have more activities in Prescott Promenade and he said events such as the car show should not be subsidized but rather pay for themselves through sponsorships.
“We have to look at all those events right now and figure out which ones are generating activity as well as revenue,” he said. “And so it’s mostly going to be an analysis for the next three to four months just to figure out what works and what makes sense.”
A revitalized downtown means more than just restaurants and events, however. Li Mandri envisions residential areas in walking distance to the downtown core and new mixed-use buildings like the one under construction on the corner of Main Street and Magnolia Avenue.
“Can you imagine people living there?” he said. “They walk downstairs, they go to dinner, they can have a drink, they can go listen to music. That’s why they would want to live here.”
He plans to work with landlords and developers to bring more restaurants downtown, and he sees the area one day becoming a hub not just for El Cajon, but also Alpine, Lemon Grove, La Mesa and Santee, and he expects some visible changes in about a year.
Besides El Cajon, Chula Vista and Little Italy, New City America also manages a business improvement district in San Diego’s East Village neighborhood and has established 98 such districts nationwide.
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