Scripps Howard News Service

For years cities large and small have struggled to breathe life into their downtowns, left languishing as big-box centers and malls bled off business.

In many of the successful efforts, the private sector is the pulse of the revitalization, while the government plays a supporting role, experts say.

"Government sometimes just needs to get out of the way," said Paul Shigley, editor of the newsletter California Planning and Development Report.

This formula worked for Old Town Pasadena, cited by experts as a successful downtown redevelopment.

In other parts of California, this approach has succeeded in some places but failed in others.

Merchants in Lake Elsinore's downtown are having some success by staying open later and offering live entertainment to attract people.

"For us, it's sink or swim," said Kris Hertz, co-owner of Flour Fusion in Lake Elsinore. "We can't bank on new civic centers or marinas that may or may not be here in five years.

"We have to make it happen now."

In Redlands, however, a merchant-association program that called for businesses to stay open later on the first Friday of every month failed.

People are looking for unique destinations and nearby shopping. And because of high prices and crowded freeways, there is a revived interest in downtowns, said Joel Kotkin, an urban-planning consultant.

Suburbs trying to establish identities, such as Temecula and Murrieta, are developing downtown districts.

Even sleek shopping centers such as Victoria Gardens in Rancho Cucamonga and Dos Lagos in Corona feature downtown elements, such as outdoor shopping and old brick accents.

Cities that have a Main Street with local shops and restaurants can offer patrons a change of pace, Kotkin said.

Only a handful of downtown-revitalization projects, however, have made significant gains, experts said.

In 2007, the California Planning and Development Report ranked what it said were the state's top and bottom five large and medium-size downtowns on aesthetic appeal, vibrant nightlife and entertainment, adequate housing and thriving commerce.

The report ranked San Francisco as the state's best large-city downtown and Pasadena as the state's best midsize downtown. Fresno and San Bernardino were ranked as the worst large and medium-size downtowns, respectively.

The worst downtowns, Shigley said, are absent of life, have vacant buildings and in some areas have become crime-infested. In the case of San Bernardino, city-led efforts to revitalize the core have had several false starts over the years.

In the cities that have succeeded, experts say, the city governments support the merchants with necessary infrastructure and public safety. Both groups market the downtown area to potential customers and residents. Merchants are willing to stay open later.

In Pasadena, officials struggled for decades to revive the Old Town district. Then in the late 1980s, the city changed its strategy, and its main role became to build parking structures that created revenue used to rehabilitate historic buildings. Daily operations were left to the Old Pasadena Management District.

It is up to each city to determine its role, but not overreach, Kotkin said.

"Sometimes a city will build a big building or complex hoping to spark a revival and it will kill it," the consultant said. "Or they will drive up the rents so that local innovative merchants can't get in.

"I think the city can provide the infrastructure, public safety and in some cases, the parking structures can be the key," Kotkin said.

Even with all of those ingredients, perhaps the one thing merchants seeking to revive downtown will need is patience, experts said.

Commercial revitalization is a much longer process than residential revitalization, said Lauren Adkins, an official with the National Trust Main Street Center, a Washington-based revitalization think tank.

Pasadena, for example, took more than three decades to revive, newsletter editor Shigley said.

"These things don't happen quickly, especially when you're starting from a downtown that doesn't have a lot of life," Shigley said. "It is often a 10- to 15-year experience, but it is rewarding when you see the benefits."

E-mail Aaron Burgin at aburgin(at)PE.com

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)