A years-long slide has taken Lido Marina Village from a hot spot of upscale boutiques and nightclubs to a spotty section of the Newport Beach retail landscape.
Business owners want to reverse the decline—but they might need the whole city behind them.
The retail village opened in 1971, when Via Oporto morphed into a Mediterranean-style plaza with 14 buildings totaling 210,000 square feet on about five acres. Baskets of flowers hung from street lamps. Benches lined the street, with a fountain at one end.
Shops were unique, offering such items as comedian Red Skelton’s art. Visitors also came to dine and dance at The Warehouse, Magic Island, The Thunderbird and Camelot.
About 80% of the storefronts at Lido Marina Village now are vacant. The flow of visitors has slowed dramatically for the handful of tenants that remain.
The hangers-on include a couple of restaurants facing the marina, charter boat outfits, a handful of offices and small retailers ranging from jewelry and clothing stores to beauty salons and a pawn shop.
Some of the business owners see potential in the recent arrival of Curl Fitness. The gym moved into the former site of Magic Island and The Thunderbird. It has a cafe that serves organic food.
“The location on the marina is perfect,” gym owner Becky Hartman said. “We want the laid-back, beachy feel. Hopefully, it becomes a social atmosphere for people.”
Gym Arrives
Dan Schmenk has owned Lido Village Books for nine years. He said he’s watched the area slide for five or six years but sees reason for hope with the arrival of his new neighbor.
“A 13,000-square-foot gym is not going to hurt us at all,” Schmenk said. “I think it’s really going to bring a lot of people here.”
Newport Beach Mayor Michael Fenn pointed to Curl Fitness as an addition that could play a pivotal role in the city’s long-term redevelopment plan, which includes the nearby Via Lido Plaza.
What redevelopment might look like is an open question—and it could be put up for a citywide vote and require state approval.
The California Coastal Commission has the authority to stop any significant waterfront development.
Greenlight?
The city’s Greenlight Initiative requires a vote on any development of more than 40,000 square feet, 100 homes, or any other size that stands to generate more than 100 automobile trips during peak traffic hours.
“No project that I know of in the city has gotten through since they enacted that measure seven or eight years ago,” said David Blackman, who manages family-owned Blackman Limited Jewelers. Blackman Limited has been on Via Oporto since 1959.
Bookstore owner Schmenk also has his hopes on hold.
“My guess is that’s not going to go anywhere for awhile,” Schmenk said of the city’s redevelopment plan. “Nobody has the money. Already, there’s a little bit of noise made by the people who live around here. This is not going to be an easy thing.”
Lido Marina Village prospered for awhile.
“Once we got going, we got quite busy,” Schmenk said. “It used to (thrive) five, six, seven years ago.”
The ongoing growth of South Coast Plaza and Fashion Island cut into business, especially as larger centers drew more of the unique boutiques that helped Lido Marina Village make its mark.
“In Fashion Island, 2,000 people an hour go by the front of each store,” said Bruce Blackman, owner of the jewelry store. “You wouldn’t get that here.”
Lido Marina Village brought some problems on itself.
Noise and disruption caused by restaurant and club patrons led to complaints and city officials eventually shut a number of restaurants down.
Once tenants started to leave, Providence, R.I.-based Wasserman Real Estate Capital did not seek replacements.
The remaining tenants said that was by design.
“They wanted most of us out because they wanted to tear it down,” Schmenk said. “Out came all the hanging baskets. Out came all the planted roses along the street. Out came all the benches. Nothing was painted.”
Vornado’s Role
New York-based Vornado Realty Trust took the property back after Wasserman defaulted on a loan.
City officials slapped Vornado with fines and some action followed. Vornado began to spruce the place up and seek new tenants through Davenport Partners, a Newport Beach firm that manages the Village.
“Vornado is writing leases, which is a positive development,” David Blackman said. “They’re starting to lower rents for office space on the water. There are a few new firms that have come in the last six months.”
Representatives from Vornado and Davenport Partners declined to be interviewed for this story.
One thing is clear to Schmenk: It’s only a matter of time before changes come to the ailing retail spot with a window on Newport Harbor.
“It may be a long ways off,” Schmenk said, “but 10, 15, 20 years from now, this won’t exist.”
