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!

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.

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.