Globest online real estate news New York, NY November 4, 2015
November 4, 2015
Lifestyle Tenants Define DTLA Retail
By Kelsi Maree Borland | Los Angeles
Amit Parekh: “We definitely are not taking just any tenant, and the retailer competition for key
locations is huge.”
LOS ANGELES—Lifestyle retail tenants are wanted in Downtown Los Angeles, but mixed-use
landlords aren’t just taking every applicant. While there is a surfeit of product under construction,
developers and property owners are aiming to carefully cultivate the retail landscape in the market,
and as a result, are waiting for the right fit.
“We definitely are not taking just any tenant, and the retailer competition for key locations is huge,”
Amit Parekh, a broker at Avison Young who, along with principal Derrick Moore, recently signed
three new retail leases at LEVEL DTLA, tells GlobeSt.com. “We take our expertise of the real estate
market, and along with the assessment of the needs of a community and ownership, make efforts to
attract businesses that we know would be successful in a particular location. Discretion is very
important to our team and a key factor to our leasing success.”
On behalf of Onni, the developer behind LEVEL DTLA, Parekh just signed three new retail tenants
at the property with SoulCycle, Sakana Sushi and Cognoscenti Coffee employing this strategy.
The tenants will occupy the ground floor retail space of the 33-story multifamily mixed-use
development, and bring the property’s retail space to 95% occupancy. “Lifestyle was key,” explains
Parekh. “The SoulCycle, Cognoscenti Coffee, and Sakana Sushi brands offer the community a place
for which to gather, relax, and get healthy. In other words, they are venues that infuse sophisticated
lifestyle choices into this growing neighborhood.” There is still one space remaining in the property,
and while Parekh is fielding offers from tenants, he is being careful to chose the right fit. However,
he expects the space will be filled by Thanksgiving.
The right mix of lifestyle-type tenants is important because developers are aiming to have tenants
that serve both the building tenants and the surrounding community. Parekh says that he has both in
mind when he is finding the right tenant mix. “We work to create an ideal synergy between the
community and the mixed-use asset so that the retailer meets an unmet need,” he explains. “The
demographic base as well as pent up demand for a certain product or service are key factors in
ultimately presenting a landlord with a strategic tenant prospect. It is our task to provide a landlord
with solid tenant recommendations that they can get excited about. We feel that retail helps create
the fabric of the community and we make it our mission to work with communities to build
neighborhoods, not just businesses.”