Shops Vacate, Make Way for Theater

A little hot, a little flustered, Donna Small sat in front of her store on Main Street as men trooped by carrying bookcases and boxes.

For Small and other downtown Ventura shopkeepers, the day marks the end of an era. And a block.

In recent months, businesses have been trickling out of the 500 block of Main Street to make way for the planned 10-screen multiplex movie theater. Demolition of the block, from the pink Jack Rose building at the corner of Chestnut and Main streets down to the sprawling beige of what was formerly the Sav-Mor, is scheduled to begin in mid-July.

Construction of the theater should begin in August.

Small owned the Crafter’s Showcase at 573 Main St., the final business to evacuate the north side of the 500 block.

“I’m the last survivor,” Small said. “I’m nostalgic.”

Small will still be downtown, moving only a few blocks to 51 S. Oak St. To mark the occasion and create a sense of goodwill among downtown shopkeepers who have had to cooperate with the city on the project, Deputy Mayor Rosalee Measures will hold a ribbon cutting at the store’s new location Saturday.

In the meantime, the project continues to move forward. Monday night the City Council directed city staff to dip into various city reserves to open up a $6.5-million line of credit so the redevelopment agency can fulfill its contract with theater developer Victor K. Georgino. The money will be used to cover increased costs of the theater and a downtown parking structure. The final 1997-98 budget is expected to be approved June 16.

Small feels lucky to have found a spot downtown--other businesses, such as Cosmos Cotillion, have had to move farther away, to spots such as the Buenaventura Mall.

“In a year, it’s going to be wonderful,” she said.

“But I worry about the merchants downtown. I think they have a real struggle ahead.”