"You go to the Playhouse, you're in seating," Mayor Mark Orgill told the Los Angeles Times the day after the ribbon-cutting. "You go to the Cultural Arts Center, you're primarily seated. It's a different experience. At the promenade, you can listen to music and you can socialize at the same time."
Later in the same interview he described the plaza as "a wonderful outdoor social space that can also be used for entertainment from time to time." The phrase "from time to time" matters. The permanent Promenade on Forest opened on Friday, Sept. 25, almost four weeks after the city's summer music series ended. The design choices made for this block point to cool weeknights rather than peak-season weekends. That makes this October and November the first real test of the space as a public room that has to function without a stage schedule.
From a $250,000 experiment to a $7.2 million room
The lower block of Forest Avenue, between Glenneyre Street and Coast Highway, closed to cars in June 2020 so downtown businesses could serve customers outdoors during the pandemic. That temporary plaza cost about $250,000, including $10,000 for security. The permanent version cost $7.2 million, which City Manager Dave Kiff said came in under budget. The City Council awarded the $5.5 million construction contract to Superb Engineering in January.
The money went into removing the street itself. The roadway, curbs, sidewalks and parking spaces are gone, replaced by rustic tumbled brick and a kelp-forest-inspired fountain. Kiff said the decomposed granite used in construction should help with drainage, and the new landscaping was chosen to handle a "saline" environment better. Eucalyptus trees considered unstable or ill were removed over the summer.
The project had its share of opposition. The appeal to the California Coastal Commission argued that the lost parking couldn't be replaced, that flooding risk wasn't addressed, and that the design didn't fit the town's character. The commission found no substantial issue. The tree removals during construction drew protests of their own.
The design details that point past summer
The plan the city approved in April 2025 calls for herringbone and banded brick, decomposed-granite areas, dining tables and chairs, several types of benches, shade umbrellas, and removable heaters for cold weather. By early July, crews had installed custom tables and chairs, sun umbrellas fitted with heaters, piped-in audio and new lighting. A nautilus bench and bike racks were among the last pieces added.
Removable heaters are the clearest sign that the plaza was planned with cold evenings in mind as well as summer afternoons. The seating is also public. It isn't tied to any single restaurant, so a coffee from one storefront and a pastry from another can share a table that no business controls.
The fountain's design came from a decision about art. A July 2026 city update said the Arts Commission chose not to recommend public art in the fountain in September 2025. The custom plinth and top were then developed with SWA, the project's designer. The same update said three permanent art pieces were expected to return to the promenade and that a call for temporary public art was in the works. Neither the pieces nor their locations have been named. Local tile artist Marlo Bartels was photographed beside one of his creations at the opening.
Who's on the block
The opening night doubled as two anniversaries. Bushard's Pharmacy turned 80 and Moulin, a Parisian-style cafe, turned 10. Joseph Bushard, a young pharmacist fresh out of USC, opened the business in 1946. It still operates in the building he built on Forest Avenue, in its original footprint and never remodeled. His granddaughter, Marisa Fader, runs it today. Moulin staff handed out baked goods at the opening, and diners were seated outside Alessa, the Italian restaurant on the promenade.
Faherty opened on Forest Avenue in April. In July, the Register reported that two food businesses next door, one selling specialty frozen yogurt and one selling paninis, were expected to open later in the summer. It did not name them. The same report placed the Candy Baron near a large eucalyptus by the promenade. Taken together, the block holds an 80-year-old pharmacy, a decade-old cafe, a sit-down Italian dining room, a clothing store and a candy shop. That mix gives people reasons to stop by at different hours of the day.
The first season without a stage schedule
This summer, the city's Promenade on Forest stage hosted live music from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from July 10 through Aug. 30, paid for by lodging establishments and the city. That season ended before the ribbon-cutting. Local band 133 played the Sept. 25 opening. No recurring fall music series has been announced so far.
The next date on the city's calendar is Hospitality Night on Friday, Dec. 4, sponsored jointly by the City and the Laguna Beach Chamber of Commerce. The posted plan has Anneliese School on the Forest Avenue main stage at 6:30 p.m., followed by Susannah B & the Lowkeys and Earl Thomas from 7 to 9 p.m. Businesses will hold open houses from 5 to 9 p.m.
Until then, the plaza is simply open. Under the city's approved conditions, cars are kept out, pedestrians and bicyclists may pass through, and special events need a permit. The city hasn't posted promenade-specific rules on hours, dogs or scooters.
As for the remaining construction work, Kiff told the council on Sept. 22 that brickwork at the north end was finished, work was still underway at the Coast Highway end facing Main Beach, and full electrical service for the fountain, audio system and Wi-Fi was expected by that Wednesday. No published report since the opening has confirmed whether every item is now complete.
What the rest of downtown is waiting on
The promenade has its permanent approvals. Many restaurant patios elsewhere in town don't yet. On Sept. 22, the City Council voted 5-0 to advance new blended parking requirements, ranging from 2.25 to 3 spaces per 1,000 square feet across six commercial districts. It also directed staff to help businesses operating under temporary outdoor dining approvals obtain temporary use permits and coastal development permits by Jan. 1, 2027.
Staff found that some temporary dining areas could not become permanent under the current parking rules without a variance, partly because Laguna's older commercial buildings have little room for on-site parking. The proposed fix would exempt outdoor dining areas from parking requirements when they are no larger than the indoor dining room, up to 500 square feet and five parking spaces. Principal Planner Belinda Deines said the exemption "would alleviate the most significant hurdle for businesses seeking permanent outdoor dining areas." The rules still need community workshops, a return trip to the council and Coastal Commission approval.
Paying to park is changing too. In July the council approved IPS Group as the new mobile parking-payment vendor and added a 50-cent fee for paying by phone. No launch date has been published.
A fall calendar that runs past Forest
Several of the season's biggest events take place near the plaza rather than on it:
| Dates | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Oct. 11, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. | LPAPA Invitational Art Show & Festival, free | Festival of Arts grounds |
| Oct. 16 to 25 | Coast Film & Music Festival | Various venues |
| Oct. 23 to 25 | Coast Festival concerts with Rainbow Body, Ben Harper and Amos Lee | Irvine Bowl |
| Through Jan. 18 | Kim Manfredi, View with a Grain of Sand | Laguna Art Museum |
| Nov. 1 to 9 | Art + Nature Celebration Week | Laguna Art Museum and Heisler Park |
| Nov. 5 to 9 | Manfredi's A Flag Walk for Our Future, a 0.7-mile accessible route | Heisler Park |
| Dec. 4 | Hospitality Night | Forest Avenue main stage |
The Laguna Plein Air Painters Association Invitational runs Oct. 3 to 11, with 30 artists competing for more than $50,000 in prizes. Two Irvine Bowl shows scheduled for early October were postponed over licensing issues, so check the Coast concert dates before planning around them. The Surfing Heritage and Culture Center, now at 232 Ocean Ave., normally offers free admission Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. From Oct. 17 to 25 it will admit only Coast Film Festival ticket holders.
The city's off-season trolley schedule runs from Sept. 8, 2026, to June 25, 2027. The coastal route operates Monday through Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday and Saturday until 10 p.m., and Sunday until 7 p.m. On weekends, the canyon route leaves Lot 16 every 30 minutes between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. The trolley is free and parking at the lot costs $5. Friday and Saturday trolleys run until 10 p.m. even in the off-season, which makes it easy to reach the plaza after dark without driving.
If downtown's changes have you rethinking how your own home or patio fits into Laguna's next chapter, Vasi Vangelos is glad to walk Forest Avenue with you and talk it through. Let's Connect.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
