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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!

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

Every second Thursday of the month Spring Street from 2nd St to 9th Street hosts Downtown LA's ArtWalk Event. The stretch is informally dubbed "Gallery Row" and all of these galleries open their doors to the public. Even more traditional retailers get involved hosting events and exhibitions. Food trucks and sidewalk vendors crowd the streets. Over the past few years it has quickly become one of Downtown's "don't miss" events. One of the questions that comes up frequently among artists is how do I display my work during this event? One of the easiest methods could be having your own gallery right in the middle of the event. DTLARealEstate.com is proud to present the opportunity to take over a small gallery space at 333 S Spring St. The gallery is a ground floor space measuring 644 sq ft. The rate is three dollars per square foot which well below market value for a sub 1000 sq ft space. There is also 844 sq of mezzanine space which the new tenant will have the option to lease at a negotiable rate. This is a 15 month sublease after which the new tenant can negotiate for a new longer term lease with the building. For more information please view our website at dtlarealestate.com

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.

  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.

As a commercial real estate broker in Downtown LA, I talk to commercial owners and managers of property in Downtown Los Angeles all the time.  When an owner has a vacant space and wants to work with me I see my role as getting their property leased within 90 days.  If I show it to five qualified people and they do not lease, there’s something wrong funky with one of the 5 causes.  As I wrote in a previous blog entry, there’s 5 things that cause space to get leased.  The biggest one of these 5 causes for properties in gentrifying areas of Downtown LA is often not price. Typically, the issue is lack of value which relates to many things including style, safety, and simplicity.  If you own commercial real estate in Downtown LA in a transitioning/gentrifying area and you follow the recommendations in this article, you will make more money from your property than you can imagine.  Your return on investment in this market will be far better by improving value over lowering price. To recap, here’s those 5 causes that cause properties to get leased.  One, marketing exposure.  Two, time.  Three, adding value.  Four, lowering price.  And five, improving sales presentation.  For me, marketing is never the problem.  If it’s in Downtown LA I can market their property more than anyone else can in Downtown LA.  Time?  No one has time.  Sales?  Most of the time spaces lease themselves, but a sales person does make a difference, and I’m not a bad salesman.  These typically have not been an issue.  Price?  Price has not been the problem.  People in Los Angeles can afford very high rents.  The most common problem I see that keeps properties in gentrifying areas of Downtown LA from leasing is lack of value in terms of style, safety, and simplicity for potential tenants.  If you want gentrified tenants for you un-gentrified property, this is what you need to know. Business owners are looking for value!  They educate themselves.  They look around at different spaces and get a gauge on what’s available for what.  They pay attention to details and compare those details.  Also, business owners have minimal standards!  You can have a crappy building for $.25 a square foot, and still no self-respecting business owner is going to want to relocate their business there. So yes, the problem is value! Business owners care about their image just like they care about what kind of clothes they wear.  Does the property have a style that you can argue for aesthetically?  For gentrifying properties, creative companies are the most likely tenants.  Yes, people like shabby warehouses, but if they are the type that’s willing to pay $5000 a month for a creative office space or retail space in Downtown Los Angeles, they are going to need the space to be crisp, clean, and polished.  The key is to make the property stylish, make it cool, make it what business owners would want to align their image with. Safety is also a spin-off of value.  Safety is a big concern, especially for people not familiar with Downtown Los Angeles.  People that live here feel comfortable, but some people are shocked simply by homeless people asking them for money.  Shocked and afraid! People who have not lived in the Historic Core for a while and find themselves among homeless people, the drug addicted, and/or the mentally ill members of Downtown LA, often freak out. I see it all the time.  Just because you might be use to these type of people, most other people are not. Regardless, for everyone, safety is important.  When you add exterior lighting, security cameras, and a security guard the safety concern is a lot less problematic.  If people are concerned about the safety of your property, they’re probably going to drive by it or walk around there at night to ease their concerns.  If it is pitched black around your building, they obviously are not going to feel safe! Also, business owners care about amenities.  Does the space have HVAC?  Is there a conference room in the common areas?  Are the bathrooms and common areas clean?  Does the exterior of the building look well kept?  Does the lobby give a good first impression?  Often times, it doesn’t matter how cheap the space is, a lot of people simply will not rent without certain things. Last but not least, and a spin-off on value, make the move in simple.  The less the tenant has to do to make the space work for them, the better.  If it’s not move in ready, you cannot show them it does indeed work for them.  Make your property safe, don’t tell people you can.  Make it convenient, don’t tell people you can. People are untrusting these days more than ever, especially in real estate. For instance, lots of gentrifying properties don’t have central HVAC.  Well there’s good news, there’s other options for AC.  Best case scenario, buy the portable AC’s or one of the other AC options out there.  Moreover, install it for them or maintenance!  You can charge them a monthly fee, like the Spring Arts Tower does.  Show them it cools the space down. Do not tell them they can buy the AC and it will cool the space down.  They will think, “Where will I buy an AC and how will I install it?  That sounds complicated. Gosh, that’s another thing to do and worry about.  Wait a second… oh shoot I just remembered I need to go pick up my kids from school.  Crap I think I left the curling iron on!”  Show them! People do not have time or patience.  Tenants will make the easy convenient choice because they have a hundred other things on their mind.  The money you’ll save from having the space leased and not vacant will definitely make you more money than doing the opposite. The most common thing I hear from owners of properties in transitioning areas is this: It’s okay, we can do those improvements once we find a tenant. NO! You need to make your property cool, not tell people you can make it cool. Also, creative people are surprisingly uncreative at times, when looking for Downtown LA real estate.  Also, most people want to move within 30 days.  If it’s going to take you three months to get the improvements done, the “I’ll make it cool” response, makes no sense in principle!  These people will have rented somewhere else by the time the owner is done with the improvements.  Also, since these tenants shop around, why would someone lease at your property that you tell them you’ll make it cool when someone down the street has made the property cool already and they could move in now if they wanted to? So to recap Within reason, price is often not the problem Know that your tenants care about            Style: their image Safety: they don’t want to worry about their employees getting robbed      and suing them or something worse People have minimal necessities no matter how low the price is Know that your potential tenants shop around Make the move-in simple for them They have enough to worry about Make the property an easy “no-worries” choice People are not trusting.  And creative people often are not creative. Make the property cool, don’t tell people you’ll make it cool My name is Donegan McCuaig.  If you’re looking to buy, sell, lease, or manage property in Downtown LA give dtlarealestate.com a call now.  Thank you!

If you're a real estate owner or experienced property manager, you already know these in one form or another, here’s my spin on these concepts.  It is useful to refresh these points in your mind.  There are five ways to increase rental activity for your commercial real estate in Downtown LA, and only five ways to increase rental activity in DTLA.  If you have a vacant space, the cause of the vacancy has something to do with one or more of these factors.  Do you have a vacant commercial space in DTLA?  Wouldn’t you like to be collecting the monthly rent on it?  Well, let’s see what we can do by going over these five factors! ADD VALUE · RENOVATIONS: Sometimes, it is hard to realize how your space looks to fresh eyes, someone seeing the space for the first time.  If your space shows poorly during a tour, this will be a factor in getting the space leased.  Also, the physical appearance of your property will affect the quality of the pictures you are able to get of your space.  When it comes to online advertising, your space is only as good as your photos of it. · BRANDING: Are you positioning your property to the tenants who make up the market for the greatest demand of your property?  Did you use to rely on sewing manufacturing tenants when now the greater demand and value is in creative office space?  Is the image of your space is projecting cool? · How dtlarealestate.com can help: I can consult with you to position your property in the best light possible for the greatest demand based on my knowledge and experience of the “gentrified type of tenant” coming into Downtown Los Angles. INCREASE EXPOSURE OF VACANT UNITS · Marketing is everything.  Is your space getting the most visibility it possibly can to the type of tenants that are most interested in your space? · How dtlarealestate.com can help: First of all, I can make your spaces look good with photography and video.  I have over 38,000 fans on Facebook at facebook.com/dtla4ever where I share photography, street art, and real estate in Downtown LA.  My website gets over a thousand visits per month.  You can Google “commercial real estate Downtown LA” and see how I get so many tenants calling me each day.  I honestly believe there is no one in the world that can give your commercial rental units any more marketing visibility than I can.  And personally, I’ve never seen anyone else come close to the photography and video that I do for my clients’ vacant spaces. REDUCE PRICE/RENT RATE · Self-explanatory. · How dtlarealestate.com can help: You don’t need me for this one. IMPROVE SALES SKILLS OF TOURING AGENT · The sales presentation a tenant receives extraordinarily affects whether they rent or not.  The methods employed when demonstrating the space and persuasion involved can mean the difference between making and breaking a deal. INVENT AND USE A TIME MACHINE · Last but not least, eventually, it might take two years, but someone is going to find out about your space, call you, agree to the rent rate, approve of your sales pitch, and rent your space at your asking price.  Hopefully, you don’t raise the rent rate during that two years time, because it might stay vacant forever! · How dtlarealestate.com can help: I’m a smart guy but I can’t build you a time machine.  You’re on your own with this one! The ways I can work with you (as a Downtown LA real estate broker and property manager) to get your vacant commercial spaces leased better than any other broker in the world are by helping you with adding value, increasing quality of your marketing materials, increasing the number of people exposed to your marketing materials, and being your sales representative.  If you’re interested, give us a call and we can talk about filling your building up with happy tenants!

You've often heard "don't pay broker fees" as a gimmick that companies advertise to make you think you'll get a better deal by working with them directly. Well, there's a reason why they don't want you to use a broker, and often times it is to take advantage of you. You should have an experienced broker for office space, retail space, and any sort of commercial real estate transaction. It's especially important if you are looking to buy or sell real estate. Here's why 1. An experienced broker will know more about the market than you do Some people think they can gauge the real estate market just by going out and looking at four or five similar types of vacant spaces and get a good idea what the particular market is doing. That's only partly true, because there's a bigger picture. Appraisers are taught to estimate the value of a property by comparing similar properties. For buying, they compare recent sales, and for leasing they compare the terms and rates of what's currently vacant and for lease. In both of these cases, the information being used is not holistic and inclusive of all the possible information out there. For instance, what the trends of the moment are, and what very recent activities have taken place. If you were vacillating about whether to rent creative industrial work space at the moment or within six months less than a year ago; were aware that three major sewing manufacturing properties in Downtown were going to be converted into residential; that all their sewing tenants would be kicked out; and that those tenants would absorb most if not all the vacant industrial space for rent, you would have been wise to lock in a longer lease at a lower rate that time, than waiting another six months. If you weren't aware that these buildings were being converted, you would have used the current vacancy information to appraise the value of industrial space for lease without knowing that a lot less industrial space would be available in six months and that the rates would be going up or at least staying the same. In fact, you might have even have been pessimistic about the future rates of industrial space and signed only a one year lease. So as you can see, this is only one example of how using a comparative market analysis based on the current and past inventory, could cause you to make a poor real estate investment decision; one that an experienced broker would be far less likely to make. Basically, knowing the value of something includes knowing the most. Since an experienced broker will be aware of more factors and more current information and trends (because such information is only gathered over a long period of time), it is best to be using that broker for your real estate needs. 2. Brokers have needed experience in complex transaction situations Self explanatory. Brokers know the process of leasing and buying, what is normal, what you should look out for, how to prevent bad things from happening, and so on. 3. Brokers will likely find you space you cannot find on your own It would seem that with technology the way it is today that so much information is available online at the finger tips of buyers and sellers that a broker would be unnecessary. Not true, here's why: most of the time, brokers know of or are capable of knowing a lot more real estate opportunities than what is online. More than that, what they know that isn't online, is often times a better deal. They have expensive memberships to data-bases that you don't have at your disposal. Also, many times, really good spaces in really good locations (which is especially true for retail space) never go online at all. Brokers have relationships with a network of owners and often times these owners tell brokers about it. In fact, an owner might give a broker the listing and that broker might not even want to put it online. This is called a pocket listing. A broker first exhausts his personal network of clients (buyers and renters) before he lists it online. Why? Because brokers can make more money that way: in fact, he or she would typically make twice as much money by not putting it online, because he or she won't have to share the commission with the tenant or buyer's broker. That should be a powerful reason for you to invest yourself in the services of a broker. In other words, often times, what is put online is the stuff left over that brokers weren't able to lease or sell on their own. Why weren't they able to lease or sell them? In other words, what is wrong with the space now that it's put online? That's a powerfully good question. You can see now that the prime commercial real estate spaces typically aren't put online, and when they go online and they're a good deal the get bought or rented quickly. And you might not be aware that the space is a good deal and vacillate on it for a while, and it gets rented or bought out from under you. That is a bad experience you wouldn't want to have, and you can prevent it by working with brokers. 4. Brokers can be an important figure in your networking strategy for your business If your business benefits from networking with other business owners, the person that finds business owners a space to operate their business is a good person for you to know. He or she can give you referrals for your business, or possibly refer you to a trusted associates that can benefit you. 5. Brokers can prevent you from making mistakes See 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7. 6. Typically, brokers can negotiate more creatively Possible concessions are not always obvious, in the mind of the lessee/buyer or the lessor/seller. A broker is there to facilitate the transaction between these groups in a way that will satisfy both parties. Each party to a transaction is invested in a deal in a different way, and therefore they do not always see potential mutual benefits. Who would be a better person to help you find common ground, than a person who does it every day for a living? 7. Brokers are invested in your happiness and success As a renter, brokers want your business to succeed because it makes them look bad to the owner if you fail. When you are not able to pay your rent or fulfill your lease obligations the owner or manager of the building associates that negatively with the broker who brought you to the building. What does that mean? If you fail it harms the relationship between the broker and the owner. So, literally, the broker's business is hurt if you do not succeed. As a renter or a buyer, commercial real estate brokers want your business to succeed as well; not only that, they want you to have, at the very minimum, a reasonable deal. They know that you will tell everyone you know about your experience and what kind of deal you got. In other words, if they give you a bad deal they know you are going to talk badly about them to everyone you know. A professional real estate consultant is there to make a reputation for himself, long term. He or she has a lot to lose by your business failing or you not being happy with your deal. CONCLUSION: You should have a commercial real estate broker. It is like having an insurance policy. It's not required but it's smart. As always, if you need help renting office space or retail space in Downtown Los Angeles give us a call (213) 304-4727!