Why “DoMo” has more mojo

Let’s continue, “If They Can Do It, Why Can’t We?” our occasional series about what other Central Valley towns manage to do and Stockton bafflingly does not. 

Today: Modesto’s pleasant downtown.

Modesto’s downtown is not some world-class showpiece. But it is a lively, commercially diverse district of restaurants, bars, galleries, and shops where people feel safe to visit and socialize into the night. 

“Outside, stuff happens until nine, then, bands in bars,” said Griffin Dye, a bartender at Goat Bar & Grill on 10^th Street.

Dye was talking about DoMo (Downtown Modesto) First Fridays, a popular two-block street fair that runs from May to October. It features bands playing in a 10^th Street plaza, craft vendors, food, and craft beer, backed by downtown restaurants and bars, also offering demonstrations of break dancing, salsa dancing, roller skating and other fun.

But even on a Monday night, when some bars and restaurants are closed, others remain open, and the downtown has a pulse. The streets are clean, graffiti-free, and decorated with glowing Christmas lights. Numerous stores stay open. Few vacancies mar blocks. 

How does Modesto do it? Police dispatch officers to crimes, of course, but the department also fields outreach workers to calls about unhoused or mental health cases, said Modesto police spokesperson Sharon Bear. 

The outreach workers comb the downtown, “chat with people about resources and shelters, and it’s really made a huge difference in the downtown area,” said Bear.

On top of that, Modesto’s downtown improvement district fields “Downtown Experience Engineers” to remove graffiti and litter, pressure wash buildings, and tend landscaping. They wrapped 10^th Street tree trunks in sparkling Christmas lights.

It’s not just decorative, said Heidi Savage, Interim CEO of the Downtown Modesto Partnership. “Beautification makes a place safer. When people feel like an environment is built for them, they will go there. They will linger longer.”

Many downtown Modesto walls are covered in high-quality murals. At an annual event called DoMo Walls, local and far flung mural artists splash colorful art on building sides and alleyways. 

“Over the years, this event has added an impressive 22 world-class murals to the heart of our city, contributing to its cultural richness,” says a DoMo press release.

Added Savage, “Public art creates a sense of safety and enhances safety because it makes spaces more human friendly and walkable.”

Downtown Stockton sports some fine murals — also some godawful ones likely painted by grade schoolers. Depending on your point of view, the message is, We love our children, or, We do things on the cheap.

Some street people refuse services; my friend and I were panhandled in our first five minutes in Modesto. But enthusiastic patrons far outnumber loiterers, making the district’s vibe relaxed and inviting. 

It doesn’t hurt that Brenden’s multiplex in the heart of downtown or the nearby Gallo Center or, not too far off, the historic State Theatre’s film, concert, and event venue all draw people.

Funny thing, Downtown Stockton in some ways is similar. It has police too, of course, but also mental health outreach workers. It has Downtown Hospitality Ambassadors and a maintenance team. It has venues such as the arena, Bob Hope Theatre and ballpark. And an asset Modesto can only dream of, a potentially amazing waterfront.

But downtown Stockton’s assets do not synergize into a coherent commercial district. And that’s true of the daytime, when nearly 28,000 9-to-5ers work there.

It gets worse at night. When the wage slaves make their Exodus, downtown Stockton ekes, at best, a sporadic and partial night economy. At worst, it’s a graveyard.

Not always. When the arena sells out, such as at the recent Peso Pluma concert, or thousands attend shows at the Bob Hope Theatre or enjoy a game at the ballpark, the streets in the vicinity feel safe and lively … until the event gets out, and most everybody goes home, or to bars and restaurants in other parts of town.

What’s the problem?

• Downtown’s geriatric buildings boast great character, but inside they present developers with pricey problems.
• The Crosstown Freeway restricts southside access. It also sends a less-than-inviting message, especially since it was created by bulldozing Chinatown and other minority neighborhoods. 
• Thanks to city government negligence over decades, many downtown brownfields have yet to be cleaned up, a precondition for redevelopment.
• While City Hall has become more business-friendly, streamlining the permit process, for instance, one still hears horror stories.

Stockton attorney Jacob Benguerel attempted to recreate one aspect of Modesto’s downtown when he opened The Deliberation Room, a bar-café on California Street, in 2016. Bengueral said he missed Trefetti’s across from Modesto’s courthouse.

“Pretty much most nights of the week you’ll find defense attorneys, D.A.’s attorneys in there drinking,” Berngueral said. “You might see a judge sitting at the bar, or a table of judges. Here in Stockton my biggest complaint was they don’t have a place like that.”

While he had some good things to say about Stockton’s Economic Development Department, calling it “super helpful” for awarding him a façade improvement grant and money for murals, and county government gave him a business loan when local banks would not, Benguerel called Stockton’s Building Department “an impediment. All day, every day.”

He cited one example. He installed steampunk-style light fixtures made partly from plumbing pipe. City building inspectors could not seem to grasp they would not carry water, he said.

“The building inspectors were just being absolutely unreasonable,” said Bengueral, who recalled their orders.“You have to run the wire outside the pipe.” When he argued that exposing the wiring was both ugly and less safe, they dug in: “You’re not putting that fixture up.”

Bengueral ultimately got his doors open and thrived. He hosted numerous events: music, prohibition repeal parties, drag shows. State-ordered Covid closures killed The Deliberation Room. A shame.

• Many Stocktonians spurn downtown. “I never go south of March Lane/Harding Way/Wherever” is such a constant refrain it is part of city culture. A culture of self-limiting apathy.

To counter it, the city has been staging events such as the current Stockton Lantern Festival, Nov. 24-Jan 14 at the ballpark. “You are immersed into the deep woods of Caballococha, Peru,” promises the promotional materials. Ain’t been there and done that one!

• Perhaps most consequentially, downtown lacks market-rate housing, and residents with expendable income. 

That’s a thorny problem. Countywide, the housing market strongly favors other places, said Carrie Wright, Stockton’s economic development director.

“When you can go 20, 30 minutes away and build that same type of housing and sell or rent it for a lot more money, you’re going to do that if you’re a builder,” said Wright.

The city is creating a Housing Action Plan and downtown Neighborhood Action Plan to identify steps necessary to overcome the housing market reticence. The plans are due in Spring. 

The city also hired a consultant firm to identify city policies and ordinances that impede development (“Hello, Building Department?”) The draft report has been released.

And the city secured a $5.2 million grant to clean up “Southpointe,” the approximately 9-acre plot of bare land on the inner harbor’s south bank west of the new City Hall. 

Now comes the Apples-to-Oranges part of our program where we anticipate the reasons why comparing Modesto and Stockton is so unfair. 

…

Okay, we’re done. 

Fitzgerald’s column runs on Wednesdays. On Twitter and Instagram as Stocktonopolis. Email: mfitzgeraldstockton@gmail.com