Mayor Kevin Johnson on Tuesday announced two community meetings to exchange ideas on reviving K Street Mall and Westfield Downtown Plaza, shortly before an independent analysis comes out.

The mayor will meet with business and property owners next Monday, and then with the rest of the public on Oct. 19, as a way to involve the community in the ongoing effort to develop a new strategy for K Street and the rest of the J-K-L corridor, the core of downtown.

"We want to create a new vision," Johnson said in his weekly press conference inside city hall. “We need to re-imagine what downtown looks like.”

The issue has vexed other mayors and city councils. The meetings will be the first such community meetings held by Johnson.

Last spring, the city's Economic Development Department and Downtown Sacramento Partnership hired a Washington, D.C. firm to evaluate K Street Mall's existing retail environment and propose an immediate action plan, after taking into account new realities in the retail industry and the current state of the capital market, said DSP Executive Director Michael Ault.

Midge McCauley and other retail consultants from the firm Downtown Works will present their recommendations to the DSP board next month. Their work cost $80,000, said Johnson's spokesman Joaquin McPeek.

On Oct. 12, the mayor plans to meet with business and property owners, as well as the former owners of defunct businesses. The meeting will give stakeholders from J, K and L streets between Third and 16th streets a chance to share past challenges and current concerns, and give input on possible answers to the area's problems. 

"The mayor believes that success cannot be attained unless the entire corridor is involved in the solution," McPeek said.

Johnson said he also wants to make sure they're appreciated.

"I want to thank them for staying and not bailing out on us," he said at the press conference.

At both meetings, the mayor will share his ideas for the area's future. He has engaged in talks with the Downtown Plaza's owner, Westfield Group, the world's largest retail property group, to find out by year's end if the company will invest more or sell its part of the shopping mall.

"I think it's clear the mayor is very focused on wanting to get some resolution on the future of Downtown Plaza," Ault said.

The plaza could face significant change, which could include reopening that section of K Street — as suggested last week during a panel discussion hosted by the Urban Design Alliance of Sacramento.

"I don't think it's surprising to anyone that that mall is in need of a pretty significant renovation or redevelopment," Ault said. "The current situation and status quo is not an option."

However, as the plaza's owner, Westfield Group has to be involved in moving forward, he added.

"This has got to be a team effort for all of us," Ault said.

The mayor will hold a public meeting on Oct. 19 for residents, visitors and people who work in the city. Location and time will be announced later, McPeek said.

"It's open to anyone who wants to come who has great ideas," he said.

Staff reporter Kathleen Haley contributed to this report. Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.