The Promenade on Forest Is Almost Open. Here Is the Full Story.

On September 25, 2026, Mayor Mark Orgill will cut the ribbon on the permanent Promenade on Forest in downtown Laguna Beach. Between the groundbreaking on February 17 and that ribbon-cutting is a story worth knowing in full, because the controversy around it missed more than it caught.

How a Pandemic Program Became a Permanent Plaza

The Promenade did not start as a capital project. In June 2020, the city closed a stretch of Forest Avenue to vehicle traffic so restaurants could expand outdoor seating during COVID shutdowns. It was a temporary measure. It kept businesses alive through one of the worst stretches the hospitality industry had seen in decades.

The program worked well enough that City Council extended it through January 2024. By that point, the conversation had shifted from "should we keep this going" to "should we make it permanent." In February 2024, Mayor Sue Kempf and then-Councilmember Mark Orgill formed a Promenade Ad Hoc Committee to evaluate just that. Council voted in April 2024 to proceed with a permanent pedestrian plaza.

What followed was a full approval process. The Planning Commission approved the final design and Coastal Development Permit in April 2025. The California Coastal Commission reviewed an appeal in August 2025 and found no substantial issue. On January 13, 2026, City Council awarded the construction contract to Superb Engineering, with Nexgen Construction Management handling inspection and oversight. The street closure was formalized under the city's new Slow Streets Program, adopted as Municipal Code Chapter 11.70 under California Vehicle Code section 21101(f). The groundbreaking happened on February 17, 2026.

The full project timeline and official documentation are available on the City of Laguna Beach's Promenade on Forest project page.

The Cost: What Happened and Why

This is the number that generated the most criticism, and it deserves a straight explanation rather than a headline.

The earliest public estimate for the project was around $4 million. An independent consultant later valued the full scope at $6.9 million. The contract was awarded at $5.5 million, the lowest qualifying bid, as required by state law. That is a jump of nearly 40% from the original figure, and I understand why that drew attention.

What that progression actually reflects is something familiar to anyone who has done a major renovation: early estimates cover the concept, not the construction. The $4 million figure was a planning-stage number. The $6.9 million was a fully scoped independent valuation. The $5.5 million is what a competitive bidding process actually produced. The city was legally required to award the contract to the lowest qualifying bidder. That process worked as it is supposed to.

The $10,000 chair story is worth addressing separately. A viral claim circulated that the outdoor chairs cost $10,000 each. The city responded directly: the chairs retail for $799 each. The $10,000 figure came from a single contractor bid-sheet line item that bundled furniture with labor and installation costs, and it was read out of context. A $799 chair is not a scandal. A $10,000 chair would have been. The distinction matters.

The Trees: What Actually Happened

The removal of 16 mature trees on Forest Avenue during construction was the issue that drew the most sustained community response, and the most mischaracterized one.

Here is the actual sequence. The weekend of March 21 and 22, 2026, a mature eucalyptus failed without warning and fell into the construction zone. That failure prompted the city to commission two independent arborist assessments of 11 nearby trees. Nine of the 11 had compromised root systems, the result of decay, prior sidewalk and curb damage, and plastic root barriers that had restricted structural root growth over decades. Those nine trees were removed the night of April 20, 2026. Seven older trees with viable root systems were retained. A tenth tree, designated Tree I in the city's documentation, was removed in May 2026 after a follow-up pathology report found the same root fungal pathogens, specifically Basidiomycota and Phytophthora, that caused the March collapse.

The trees were not removed for aesthetics or cost. They were removed because two independent arborists, reviewing the same evidence, reached the same conclusion: the trees were structurally compromised. Soil testing during the process also revealed elevated salinity along the corridor, a finding that directly shaped what species were chosen for replanting.

The replanting plan includes more than 30 new trees total. Two Southern Live Oak specimens, Quercus Virginiana, were installed on May 21, 2026. Each weighed approximately 25,000 pounds and required a 110-ton crane to place. The remaining new plantings include eucalyptus, the species that originally gave Forest Avenue its name and character, selected in part because it is salt-tolerant. New trees are going in with Silva Cell root support systems, tested soil, and proper irrigation, addressing the same design failures, specifically buried root flares, thick plastic root barriers, and planting over old sidewalks, that caused the original trees to fail over time.

What the Promenade Actually Built

Beyond the controversy, here is what the project delivered on the ground. The existing curb and gutter were removed to open the space. Linear trench drains manage stormwater. Permeable surfaces and brick pavers replace the old asphalt. Landscaped gardens with flowering plants run through the corridor. Designated performance areas give the block a venue function that did not exist before. Storefronts gained wider walkways, which changes how foot traffic moves and how businesses use their frontage.

This is not a resurfacing project. The infrastructure underneath Forest Avenue was redesigned.

What This Means for Buyers, Sellers, and the Surrounding Market

Projects like this do not stay inside their footprint. When a downtown corridor gets a capital investment of this scale, the effects move outward, and I have watched this pattern play out in enough coastal markets to know it is not speculation.

A functioning, well-designed pedestrian plaza changes how people use a downtown. It changes where they walk, how long they stay, and which businesses they support. That foot traffic has a direct relationship to how restaurants, galleries, and retail in the Village perform. And how those businesses perform has a relationship to how buyers perceive the neighborhood and what they are willing to pay to be near it.

The inverse is also true. A permanent closure of a downtown street that generates sustained community backlash, or that underdelivers on its design, can work the other direction. The outcome here depends on how well the space actually functions once it opens. September 25 starts that test.

For sellers with property near Forest Avenue, the question worth asking is whether this project has already been priced into your block or whether it is still ahead of buyer awareness. For buyers looking at downtown Laguna, it is worth understanding what the Promenade corridor looks like at full capacity before you draw conclusions from construction-phase impressions.

• The Promenade opens September 25, 2026 with a ribbon-cutting led by Mayor Mark Orgill.
• The contract came in at $5.5 million, awarded to the lowest qualifying bidder as required by state law. The independent consultant's full-scope valuation was $6.9 million.
• The chairs cost $799 each. The $10,000 figure circulating online came from a bid-sheet line item that included labor and installation, not the chair price alone.
• Tree removal was driven by arborist findings, not design preference. Two independent assessments found 9 of 11 evaluated trees had structurally compromised root systems. A tenth was removed after fungal pathogens were confirmed.
• More than 30 new trees are being planted, including Southern Live Oaks and eucalyptus, with upgraded root infrastructure specifically designed to avoid the failures that caused the originals to deteriorate.
• The street closure is permanent, formalized under Municipal Code Chapter 11.70 and California Vehicle Code section 21101(f).
• What this project does to surrounding property values depends on how well the space performs once open. That is worth tracking closely in the months after the ribbon-cutting.

The Broader Lesson

The controversy around the Promenade was not entirely manufactured. A 40% budget increase, 16 trees coming down mid-project, and a viral number that turned out to be wrong are legitimate things for residents and property owners to ask about. The frustration was real. What I think compounded it was timing: too much information came out in response to backlash rather than ahead of it.

Projects at this scale affect more than the block they sit on. They shape how businesses operate, how visitors experience the city, and how buyers evaluate the surrounding streets. When the city publishes project details proactively, before the viral video and before the community Facebook thread, those conversations stay grounded in facts. When the information arrives reactively, the narrative is already set. That is a lesson with a direct application to every major infrastructure project Laguna Beach undertakes going forward.

The Bottom Line

The Promenade on Forest is the most significant permanent change to downtown Laguna Beach in years, and September 25 is when the city finds out whether it delivers on what was promised. If you own property on or near Forest Avenue, or if you are considering a purchase in the Village, what happens to this corridor over the next twelve months is relevant to your position.

Reach out. I'm happy to answer any questions.

Clay Smith  ·  BonLife Real Estate  ·  DRE #02425337
Facts in this article are drawn from the City of Laguna Beach's official Promenade on Forest project page and CBS Los Angeles coverage. This article is intended for informational purposes and does not constitute financial or legal advice.