California Apparel News

As downtown Los Angeles’ fashion district prepares to undergo its most extensive makeover to date, members of the apparel industry will be watching its transformation unfold with more than curiosity. Their futures may depend on it.

In retail terms, location has always been everything, but it’s becoming a maxim for manufacturers, designers and the like as Southern California gains more status as a design capital. While manufacturing still maintains a vital role in Southern California’s economy, the name game associated with design is taking on a bigger meaning and so is location.

Local developers are hoping that a downtown Los Angeles address at Main and Eighth Street will eventually be as important as one on Seventh Avenue in New York. Downtown’s renaissance is bringing millions of square feet of commercial and residential construction to the area in the form of mixed-use projects, commercial showroom space, retail and entertainment amenities. The aim is to make downtown more livable and workplace-friendly instead of an evening ghost town.

“If we play our cards right, we could become a [merchandise] hub for the whole hemisphere,” said Ilse Metchek, executive director of the California Fashion Association. “We have to keep the buyers comfortable. What’s happening now with the residential [additions] is important. It’s the only way to bring downtown back. Then the stores will come in and the supermarkets will follow.”

“It’s definitely an exciting time for downtown,” added Steve Hirsh, proprietor of the Cooper Building, which houses textile and apparel companies. “There’s a potential for a vibrant neighborhood here.”

Cal Mart Still the Hub

The fashion district will be looked upon as one of the key growth centers in Los Angeles’ grand scheme. Though renovations at the New Mart, Gerry Building and Cooper Building have created a lot of buzz, the focus remains on the California Mart, which is part of the configuration for the new California Market Center, connecting buildings that will encompass more than one million square feet of new gift- and home-accessory-industry tenants over the coming months.

The Market Center’s new master lessee, a group comprised of the Dallas Market Center, George Little Management LLC and dmg world media, has grand plans to form a vibrant marketplace mixing merchandising with design and function. The group recently enlisted noted architecture firm Rothenberg Sawasy to lead the renovation effort. That firm recently completed the interior renovation for Los Angeles City Hall. Plans for the California Market Center, said principal Mitchell Sawasy, will be “a cohesive vocabulary of design and function.

“Our objective is twofold—-to create a space that is easy for visitors to navigate and shop, and an atmosphere where the design is a backdrop for merchandise, allowing it to sparkle and shine through the windows.”

Sawasy said improvements to infrastructure are also a priority, which means improving loading docks, freight elevators and other logistical elements. The overall effect will be minimalist and “nothing trendy,” he said.

Thus far, the center is luring some heavy hitters from the gift industry and looks to draw existing tenants away from the L.A. Mart a few miles south on Washington Boulevard. Firestone Associates, a 31-year-old firm that reps for gift and home-accessory vendors, will be among those moving, having signed a lease for 13,500 square feet.

Apparel vendors and reps should benefit from additional traffic and cross-marketing and merchandising efforts planned at the Market Center. While changes are abundant, longtime Cal Mart tenants like Margaret Cox are looking forward to them. “I think the more the merrier,” said Cox.

“I hope to see this area return to the days of the ’80s and ’90s. There’s still a lot of manufacturing going on here and though the importance of design gets a lot of coverage, manufacturing also supports a lot of jobs for a lot of people.”

Sylvia Kremer of Kremer Group agreed. “Downtown needs a lot of work but it appears to be heading in the right direction to make it a nicer and safer place. Manufacturers will always have their place here,” she said.

New Mart, Gerry Changes on Tap

Aside from its Market Center project, MJW Investments is undertaking the renovation of the Gerry Building, with about 115,000 square feet of showroom space planned, and is also part of the partnership that will add 800,000 square feet of residential/retail space just north of the Cal Mart, where construction begins next year.

“We’re in a whole new era for this part of the city. I’m really excited [about] it,” said Larry Hudson, director of leasing for MJW. “What’s happening is bringing the area to life. [The Gerry Building] is very attractive and has a ’40s ambiance. We’re hoping it will take a route similar to the 127 building [New Mart], which kind of became this hip place sort of by accident.”

The New Mart, which hosts the New York-based contemporary show Designers & Agents five times a year, is in the midst of a redesign of its third floor, where it’s narrowing its fashion theater and knocking down walls and ramps to make room for an open floor plan to increase square footage by 40 percent.

“I feel confident we will be ready in time for the November market,” said Ethan Eller, manager for the building. “It’s going to be more visually appealing with one giant circle with aisles in between. We’re taking out the concrete ramps and demolishing the whole corridor. We’ll set up accordion walls to separate everything.”

Around the corner, Anjac is converting the space above the Orpheum Theater into about 50 loft-style apartments. The historic building built in 1926 will offer apartments averaging 1,000 square feet. Developer Steve Needleman is also contemplating live/work units up to 2,500 square feet for apparel industry professionals.

And the Cooper Building is wrapping up a lobby/facade redesign that includes the opening of a new Emerson’s Cafeacute; restaurant planned for later this month.

In all, close to 700 building permits have been issued over the past five years. More than 200 retail units will be added to the fashion district over the next year. Real estate executives think these myriad plans may finally result in a viable downtown that’s as successful as its counterparts in cities including Chicago, Dallas and San Francisco.

“I think the living environment downtown is here to stay,” said Needleman. “Southern California is otherwise out of space. There [are] enough urbanites and foreigners who have lived in other cities who enjoy the urban life to support it. They’re used to security and nighttime issues. And even so, it’s a lot safer here than it was a few years ago.”

Economic Concerns

The events of Sept. 11 in New York and Washington, D.C., have exacerbated an already shaky economy. Following the Persian Gulf War in 1991, real estate in Los Angeles took a bath, but real estate sources don’t think lightning will strike twice.

“The fashion industry knows how to go through the cycles,” explained Carl Muhlstein, senior vice president of Cushman Wakefield Real Estate in Los Angeles. “The fashion district has become diversified enough to survive this. Sure, it will feel an impact, but not as much as other sectors. A lot of developers are eyeing the garment buildings since they have better bones for loft living with big industrial windows and high ceilings. Plus, residential rents pay higher than garment tenants.”

Added Hudson, “While there’s a whole generation about to leave the business, there’s also new energy to fill the space. People in this industry know how to reinvent themselves. Since Sept. 11, I think there’s more of a sense that every day is a gift and spending a little extra for a special sweater will be OK.”