How the lack of business has affected the flow of customers – 13 On Your Side’s Vince Ybarra reports
EL CENTRO, CA (KYMA, KECY) – Downtown El Centro was once the heart of a city with a strong economy. But now it has become a ghost town.
A total of nine businesses have had their business licenses suspended between January 2020 and mid-September 2022. The manager of a local vape shop said the shop was still doing well. The lack of opening of new businesses makes things difficult.
“Main Street still has the same representative that it used to have…but this is the same representative that it used to be,” Jimenez said.
On weekends, downtown El Centro feels abandoned. There are several boarded up buildings in the area, which is because the owners don’t want to open a shop.
Imperial County resident Melissa Hayes said she doesn’t shop locally.
“I honestly don’t know if there’s anything out there,” Hayes said.
She said she wants to shop at other places, such as the Imperial Valley Mall.
Another concern for Jimenez is the homeless community that congregates on Main Street.
“We’re going to be pedestrians,” Jimenez said.
El Centro Mayor Tomas Oliva said…the city is working to allocate funds to help businesses and the homeless community. But it is taking time.
And it can’t come soon enough, Jimenez said the homeless community can be very difficult.
“I had a motorcycle outside, I guess that’s what the guys were aiming for and he just took it down and hurt it,” Jimenez said.
Simply Home store manager William Caldwell says there’s still hope.
“The city of El Centro has been extremely supportive,” Caldwell said. “If we have concerns … we address them immediately.
Mayor Oliva said the city is trying to allocate new money to downtown. He says there needs to be better communication so the city knows what support is needed.
“The more business owners can tell me what can help them and what the city can do, the more I can gather all these examples and create a policy, you know, a network that holds them all together and supports them,” Oliva said.
Over the last ten years… the downtown area has generated over $3.4 million in sales tax revenue. Still… not enough.
The chief operating officer of the Imperial Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce added that public support is critical.
“We want people to come out and shop locally, eat at our beautiful restaurants and enjoy the entertainment available,” said Anne Irigoyan.
It’s something Mayor Oliva agrees with. It encourages people to come down and check out the businesses here.
