Change Is The Lab's Subject
Costa Mesa, Calif.–based specialty shopping center The Lab opened for business in 1993 to bring Orange County shoppers designer fashions that they might not find at upscale neighbor South Coast Plaza. The Lab recently cast its lot deeper into fashion with a couple of tenant changes.
On April 30, Subject Matter, a fashion retailer and art gallery, took over the 2,700-square-foot space that formerly housed fashion boutique Black & Blue. Black & Blue moved to the 600-square-foot space previously leased by music store Dr. Freeclouds Mixing Lab, which moved its operations to the neighboring town of Fountain Valley, Calif. Black & Blue also maintains a boutique in Santa Monica, Calif.
Now eight of the 14 boutiques at The Lab retail fashion, and owner Shaheen Sadeghi said he believes the greater fashion emphasis has given the specialty shopping center a fresh look.“We’re struggling with size now,” he said. “We have a lineup of great tenants, but we don’t know where to put them.”
Sadeghi’s acquisitions have grown from The Lab’s original three acres to more than 14 acres. The shopping center’s eight fashion tenants include Urban Outfitters and Habit, a boutique for men and women. Sadeghi’s properties adjacent to The Lab include The Camp, home to fashion retailers such as Active Ride, based in Ontario, Calif.
Subject Matter’s owner, Dana Jazayeri, shuttered the store’s original location, one block west of Costa Mesa’s Triangle Square, after moving to The Lab. The new store will sell labels such as Grey Ant, Mountains, Rivers and Peacocks, Romance and Jean Paul DaMage. —Andrew Asch
