Paseo Nuevo Shopping Center

The Paseo Nuevo Shopping Center Before

The Paseo Nuevo Shopping Center After

The Paseo Nuevo Shopping Center is an open-air regional mall, which opened in downtown Santa Barbara in August of 1990. The 462,000 square foot center consists of two major department stores, Nordstrom and Macy's, retail shops, an on-site parking garage and an art facility that includes an art gallery, a small performing arts theater and an outdoor amphitheater. The shopping center has won several architectural awards for outstanding design.

Paseo Nuevo was the culmination of over five years of planning, permitting, and construction. The Redevelopment Agency's principal responsibilities were to acquire and consolidate the real property necessary for the project, relocate the businesses from the acquired sites, demolish the existing improvements, and develop two off-site parking structures. Costs to the Agency for acquisition, relocation, demolition, and public improvements were over $31 million. One of the principal reasons for the development of Paseo Nuevo was potential business "leakage" to a planned out of town regional mall. The choice of siting the mall in the central business district was deliberately to enhance downtown business vitality. The downtown area has experienced a appreciable revitalization. Both jobs and sales tax revenues for the City of Santa Barbara have increased. The center is the focus for shopping and has created a number of positive spin-offs like the improved storefronts of adjoining properties In conjunction with the development of the Paseo Nuevo Shopping Center the Agency implemented the Downtown Area Streets Program (DASP) and the Shuttle Bus program. The Agency also constructed Parking Structure No. 2 and Parking Structure No. 10 which provide over 1,100 parking spaces for downtown shoppers.

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