A Man for All Seasons
By Jorge Casuso
October 14 -- Michael Guerin thrives on challenges. The new
Bayside District Board member has been a stockbroker, action and horror
film actor, karate expert and the owner of his own gym.
As senior manager in property management and leasing representative for
the Macerich Co., Guerin is in charge of both an outdoor mall in Santa
Barbara – La Cumbre Plaza – and a two-story, one million-square-foot indoor
mall in Ventura – Pacific View.
It's a résumé he hopes will serve him well after his September
28 appointment to the board that oversees Santa Monica's Downtown, including
the Third Street Promenade.
"What's more interesting than selling or leasing real estate is
creating a mix," Guerin said. "I enjoy the whole idea of studying
retail as a shopper. You can come back to a place four years later and
say, 'I did that lease. Look at all the people there.'"
Bringing people Downtown and keeping them coming back is one of the goals
Guerin hopes to pursue as the Bayside's newest board member. Like his
colleagues on the board, he wants to see more restaurants, new movie houses
and an eclectic mix of stores. Specifically, he'd like to see more "mom-with-strollers
type of stores."
But equally important, Guerin believes, is making sure people can easily
get Downtown and find a parking space when they do; otherwise, there are
plenty of competitors eager to snatch up the shoppers who currently flock
to Santa Monica.
"Let's look at the overall view of Santa Monica and the health of
this community," Guerin said. "We have to address the traffic
and the parking. Eventually, (shoppers) won't come west because they can't
get off the freeway and find a parking space."
When Guerin comes on board this month, he will be serving under a new
Bayside chair. Bill Tucker, a property owner on the Promenade, was tapped
last month to head the board as well as serve on the parking task force.
A staunch advocate of increasing maintenance to keep the Promenade competitive
and increasing parking Downtown, Tucker served on the Promenade Uses Task
Force that hammered out recommendations now before the council to stem the
exodus of restaurants from the Promenade and strike a healthy retail mix.
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