Commercial Real Estate for Lease

For me, it has been an interesting ride in commercial real estate from when I first came to DTLA in 2008 to now. It was the lowest point of the recession. I was homeless at that time, and then I found myself staying with a friend who was living in a warehouse in the Fashion District. I connected with his landlord and started renting warehouse space for artists to do the same. Because I was so successful at it, I wasn't surprised when the residential market exploded with growth. And equally, I wasn't surprised that the industrial style or warehouse-look became increasingly popular. I quickly found my services more in demand for smaller commercial real estate space than residential space. Also, I liked commercial better, and legally converting commercial space to live/work was and still is far too onerous, costly, and time consuming of a task. And it just was not worth dealing with how over-regulated, and quite frankly, bullshit-oriented the Los Angeles bureaucracy machine made it to make living in commercial space legal. So I quickly focused on office, warehouse, showroom, & retail uses only. At the time, space having an industrial look in Los Angeles office space was a unique thing. And not to disparage it, because it is still as awesome as ever, after 12 years, the warehouse space look in office space is now basically the status quo. So as you probably know the Downtown LA renaissance burgeoned into full flowering mode. Other things happened too. Ecommerce took flight. The face of retail has been changed forever. The type of commercial tenants in DTLA began to change from lawyer offices & sewing factory tenants to artists & "creative" tenants. And guess who specialized in artists and creative tenants? :) Also companies became more ecommerce focused in their use. Manufactures steadily moved overseas and continue to do so with California's over-regulation and increases in minimum wage. As ecommerce flourishes, ground floor space in the Fashion District have seen showroom tenants dropping like flies, and dropping rent prices. This fact, and all the new development that has occurred has created a surplus of cheap cool ground floor space. And this surplus, has also amplified the surplus that has been created in the office market as well, because at the end of the day renters are going to compare pricing, location, style, and amenities and an increase in ground floor space also affects the overall creative office market. Countless abandoned buildings or buildings that were once all sewing factories sold and were converted to live/work lofts. Many also converted into creative office buildings. Brokers sold developers/buyers on the idea that "You can get $3psf if you convert to creative office" and well, buyers bought it. Well, right now, it is pretty damn hard to achieve $3psf for office space in most of DTLA. Another factor has been that, with the conversion of types of uses of space, there was once a far less supply of small office spaces in Downtown LA. As a result, more co-working spaces businesses have popped up, effectively increasing the completion of attaining tenants looking for space for 2000sf or less. So basically, after such a long development and redevelopment run, now everyone and their mother is trying to lease out their commercial space to artists, and smaller commercial spaces are more abundant, and well the DTLA office market is more competitive overall, a lot more competitive. There is a surplus but it is a manageable surplus. It is not a huge, and not sure if I want to say big, but there is definitely strong competition out there. Since everyone is largely doing the same style, the name of the game has largely been who can offer the best price-per-square foot. And renters now a days, care a lot more about price per square foot than they use to. I do not see these trends in the DTLA office space market ending soon. Depending on the economy goes, we could be looking at a continued slight surplus for at least a year. But the good news is there are things that can help landlords be more competitive, aside from price. Amenities are a nice thing, like a roof lounge, an on-site cafe or market, a shared common area of any kind like a game room, kitchen space, meeting/conference room, gym, and et cetera. And of course, we here at dtlarealestate.com are an incredible resource for landlords and tenants of all kinds looking for office space in Los Angeles, not to mention warehouse, showroom, and retail space as well!

Like many creative office buildings in Downtown LA, this building was once used for sewing manufacturing. Being an industrial style building it is no wonder it was once industrial. Well, in 2012 a developer purchased the building and converted into creative office space. I've leased to around thirteen sets of tenants in this building, and it's no wonder why. It sells itself. It's located in the best location of Downtown LA, well, a block from it, on Spring Street between 7th and 8th. 6th/Spring I consider the best location. This is where DTLA Artwalk occurs on Spring between 4th and 8th Streets. Anyway, the spaces are wonderful. Polished cement flooring, some have large white polished tile. Every unit has central HVAC with its own private thermostat. The building has 24/7 access and there's a security guard onsite Monday through Friday. The units are reasonably priced per square foot. There's currently three available! Visit the main page to check them out. As always, thanks for visiting and making us your first resource for creative office space Los Angeles. We also can provide LA property management services in Los Angeles, Los Angeles homes for sale, and we can help you buy condos for sale in Downtown LA. Give us a call now!

Really excited about this new restaurant lease listing in Chinatown. I've been trying to get this listing for 2-3 years now for the office space upstairs! All of the sudden I get a text out of the blue that pretty much says "Hey we'd like to you to lease the building for us now." Wow... after all that time! Needless to say I'm grateful. So apparently the restaurant tenant recently retired and left this awesome gem, well a diamond in the rough you might say since it needs a remodel. Fortunately, this space has existing restaurant permits (which is huge for Downtown LA! It's in such high demand, space like this for restaurants with permits. Otherwise, if you were to start from scratch, you'd be looking at at least $200k and 9 months time for building out vent, hood, and getting all the inspections, and so on and so forth. There's more photos on our home page but basically this space is very reasonably listed at $5500 monthly and it's approx 1700sf. There's up to 10 parking spaces available. Give us a call for details and touring information. It's appointment only. Also, we still offer commercial property management in Los Angeles!

Michael J. Connell was born in Ireland in 1854. He immigrated to the USA as a young man and became successful in several different ventures. At the turn of the twentieth century, he moved to Los Angeles and built the first garment and textile manufacturing buildings, effectively starting the Fashion District. Connell build his first garment and textile buildings in 1911. He continued to build throughout the decade and in 1916 he hired architect Frank Stiff to design several properties, including the building that is now Cornell Lofts. In 1958, the building was upgraded. In 2001, because of their rich history, the Cornell Lofts building along with its neighbors the Eckardt building and the Santee Court building were designated Los Angeles historic monuments. At some point in the mid twentieth century, the Cornell building and its neighbors were bought by businessman Arthur Gerry. He in turn sold the buildings to MJW Investments in 1998. MJW had also acquired four other buildings in the area and all the buildings were converted to lofts. The first lofts began selling in 2004. In 2008, MJW defaulted on a construction loan and the Cornell, Eckhardt and Santee Court buildings ended up in the hands of the Bank of America. In 2010, the investment team of Kennedy Wilson and RECP/Urban Partners bought the unsold units, finished the work that needed to be done, and put the units back on market. If you would like to find out more about these amazing lofts please contact DLTA Real Estate.com!

 How to start a restaurant in Los Angeles We get calls everyday from people who would love to break into the Downtown Los Angeles restaurant market.Many people think you can go out and find a space, put in your equipment and furniture, have the health department sign off, and then start making money. If only it were that simple. Unless you are assuming an existing business and changing nothing you will generally have to go through a change of use through building and safety. You have to have your restaurant fully designed and planned and wait for their review before you get to start renovating. Most full service restaurants need to serve alcohol to hit their profit margins which involves a conditional use permit. Both of these are long and complicated processes which involve going in front of local area councils, LAPD, and the department of building and safety. It's no easy feat. You have to be prepared to pay rent on a space for anywhere from 10 to 12 months before you open your doors. We at dtlarealestate.com understand that for many individual owners this is not possible. As we don't believe that the only people in hospitality in downtown should be large corporate entities or millionaire owners, we like to assist potential owners in negotiating the best deal to mitigate these challenges. We can help negotiate periods of free rent or tenant improvements by the property owners to assist you. We also have close relationships with permitting experts that specialize in downtown. We even have a member of our staff who has a decade of experience in the hospitality field. There is no better brokerage in downtown to help you opening a restaurant in Los Angeles!  Especially leasing a restaurant in Downtown LA! ,How to start a restaurant in Los Angeles How to start a restaurant in Los Angeles OUR COMMERCIAL LEASE LISTINGS OUR COMMERCIAL SALES LISTINGS

Los Angeles Restaurant Space for Lease Unique Opportunity DTLA Real Estate.com is proud to present an incredible new opportunity to lease large restaurant or retail space on Spring Street. This space used to house an annex of the LA Times Office, but the recent layoffs at the Times have opened this space up to the public. The site sits directly across the street for the future location of the Metro Regional Connector so foot traffic will not be a problem here. The false facade of smooth plaster of this building will be removed and the original historic architecture will be restored and refurbished, separating it from the Southland Credit Building. The space has a stunning stylish industrial look that is extremely popular now, with soaring ceilings and fantastic skylights these spaces are definitely jaw-droppers, making them an ideal space for any company wishing to juxtapose themselves with a cool/hip image. The space is steps away from The Edison and and is within walking distance of Grand Central Market, Walt Disney Concert Hall, and the brand new Broad Museum. A restaurant tenant will be in company of venues such as Redbird, Otium, and Badmaash. The building can be rented together or divided evenly into two and rented separately. The building can be a net lease of the entire space or it can be subdivided into spaces of 2886sf, 7153sf, and 1489sf! Space features incredible raw wood and raw brick materials. If you would like to set up a tour of this space please contact Donegan at 213-304-4727. Also please view our other listings on our website at dtlarealestate.com BRE Lic #01753250 OUR COMMERCIAL LEASE LISTINGS OUR COMMERCIAL SALES LISTINGS

Vintage Clothing is something that has become synonymous with up and coming trendy neighborhoods. When I worked in the East Village of New York City in 2004 there were at least two or three on every block. However not all vintage stores are created equal. While some offer timeless throwbacks to past decades others are little more than a garage sale. Today Racked LA listed the top 24 vintage stores in Los Angeles and House of Vintage placed number 6 and the highest in Downtown Los Angeles. Owner Felicity Rathbone has cultivated a collection including names like DVF, Oscar De La Renta, and Versace that spans the 1920's to the 1990's. Her success has caused her to outgrow her current location so there is now an opportunity to take over the existing location as House of Vintage relocates. The location is being marketed for sale by Ms. Rathbone including all existing furniture and fixtures. The name and inventory are not included but it offers a chance for a turnkey ready to open operation in Downtown's Historic Core. If you would like more information please visit DTLARealEstate.com.

If you walk through any neighborhood in Los Angeles you're likely to come across one of nearly 1500 concrete buildings that were constructed before 1976. Full concrete buildings became popular throughout Los Angeles around the turn of the Century due to their durability. In 1976 the city determined that while sturdy these building were very vulnerable to the side to side motions of earthquakes. Over the next twenty five years the city began the process of having these retrofitted with steel beams. Today these buildings are perfectly safe and are a testament to an architectural rage of the past. People might guess that the first concrete structure was built in Downtown Los Angeles but it actually sits in the MacArthur Park area at 601 S Rampart Blvd. It was constructed in 1910 and today exists as the Rampart Arms Apartments. Recently multiple retail spaces have opened up in the building and offer an exciting opportunity to launch a business in a rapidly emerging area. It is the feeling of many stakeholders that MacArthur Park/Westlake will soon become a de facto suburb of downtown. If you are interested in this exciting opportunity you can find more details on our main page.

  Before John Steinbeck became the literary household name he is today he worked throughout Southern California on sugar beet ranches owned by the Spreckels brothers, who at one time were the sugar barons of the Western United States. The Spreckels brothers needed a warehouse with easy access to the train depots in Central Los Angeles to take their sugar so they constructed the building that is the Lofts at 940 E 2nd St today. When the artist in residence ordinance was passed in 1981 it gave new life to what became know as The Arts District. 940 E 2nd played a major part and now consists of 38 live work lofts in the heart of one of Downtown's most historic neighborhoods. All of the units in the building feature two bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms over three floors. Parking for each space is located directly outside of the front door of each unit. Each space combines modern exteriors with finishes respecting the historic nature of the building such as exposed brick, steel beams, and high vaulted ceilings. If you would like to learn more about the building and available units contact dtlarealestate.com at 213-304-4727. Unless otherwise noted we do not represent any ownership interests or management related to this building.

  What do Oreos have in common with the Arts District? The answer lies at 1850 Industrial Street. The Biscuit Company Lofts sit here occupying 7 floors and 187,000 square feet at the intersection of Industrial and Mateo. It was constructed in 1925 as the west coast headquarters of the National Biscuit Company, better known as Nabisco. Nabisco has an interesting association with American architecture having opened their first corporate office in the world's first skyscraper, the Home Insurance Building, in 1898 in Chicago. They looked to make a similar splash in Los Angeles and hired EJ Eckel to construct their California offices. In 2006 the building underwent a $25 million dollar renovation to convert the building into 104 live/work condo units. The 2007 declaration as designated historical monument made the building Mills Act eligible. This prestigious address has attracted former celebrity tenants such as Nicholas Cage, Vincent Gallo, and Justin Lin. The building features amenities such as a 24 hour doorman, a 75 foot pool, and a full size gym. The Arts District itself features some of Los Angeles' best restaurants and the upcoming addition of Soho House. If you would like to learn more about the building and available units contact dtlarealestate.com at 213-304-4727. Unless otherwise noted we do not represent any ownership interests or management related to this building.