Menlo Park Downtown Market Study is released

Economic development consultant, HdL ECONSolutions, recently submitted the Menlo Park Downtown Market Study . It was an informational item at the City Council’s February 8 meeting. A full presentation and opportunity for further public comment is being planned.

The study’s goal was to analyze the downtown area and recommend steps to enhance it as a place to do business, visit, shop, dine and live.

HdL ECONSolutions proposed two immediate and achievable action items to consider, including:

1. Expanding the Santa Cruz Avenue street café parklet program, adding consistent design standards with beautification of street barricades and the extension of the Santa Cruz Avenue street closure
2. Establishing a shop local marketing campaign for downtown

HdL ECONSolutions recommends several more steps to enhance downtown, grouped into four categories:

• Place making and enhancing a sense of place
• Creating more activity in the downtown area and producing more consumer demand
• Infrastructure improvements
• City planning and economic development

In preparing the study, the consultant completed an extensive assessment of the downtown demographics and trade area data, consumer demand and market supply, and sales tax revenue and sales dollars per capita. They hosted several focus group meetings in July and August 2021. These included downtown business owners/operators, key stakeholders and commercial real estate brokers. Together they worked to assess the downtowns strengths and opportunities for improvements.