New Showroom Building Debuts Downtown
Known for approximately 60 years as the Academy Awards Clothing building, named after the men’s apparel manufacturer that sold its suits out of the first-floor retail space there, 821 S. Los Angeles St. is being reinvented as the Fashion District’s newest showroom building.
Now dubbed the Academy Awards Clothing Showrooms, the five-story building is in the process of being converted from former manufacturing, retail and office space into showroom space for apparel companies as well as small offices for fashion-industry professionals.
Laurie Rosen, who co-owns the building with her two sisters and her father, Peter Kaplan, the former president of Academy Awards Clothing, said the evolution of the building started in late 2009.
Academy Awards Clothing shuttered its doors in 2008, leaving the space mostly vacant. (The second floor of the building is occupied by an apparel manufacturer.) Dietch PR, a fashion public-relations firm, moved into the building’s fifth floor in 2009. In late 2009, construction began to create showrooms and offices on the fourth and third floors. In all, 11 showrooms and five offices (which can also be used as storage space) will occupy a combined 14,000 square feet on the third and fourth floors. Tenants, who have trickled in as word-of-mouth about the building spread, have begun to take up residence. The Magnet, Luxe Showroom and Hellz Design showrooms, as well as one pop-up showroom featuring contemporary apparel, were open and ready for the Fall/Holiday 2010 market. Food bloggers The Confessionals have also recently taken up residence in the building.
Lease rates in the building are a big part of the building’s allure, Rosen said. “Our lease rates are extremely competitive [and] lower than more-established showroom buildings. The lease rates, along with a boutique/family feeling, are attracting new tenants to the building.” There are a few vacancies yet to fill. “Currently, on the fourth floor, we have one space with an approximate square footage of 1,500 square feet. The third floor is under construction and will be done within the next two months. On that floor, we will have five small offices [that are] approximately 10-by-11 [feet] and four or five additional larger showrooms up to 3,600 square feet,” Rosen said.
Rosen, who said shifting the building from manufacturing and retail space into fashion showrooms made the most sense, has high hopes for the Academy Award Clothing Showrooms.
“Tenants are moving in, construction is almost completed on the third floor, there’s a bar/kitchenette for tenants to use daily and for parties, and we’re eventually going to renovate the rooftop as a communal space,” she said. Rosen is also looking for a restaurant or coffee-shop tenant to occupy the lobby. “We’re excited about this new direction. The building is full of a young, fun energy.”
Franco Nakagawa, owner of the Magnet showroom, moved his showroom from the Cooper Design Space to the Academy Awards Clothing Showrooms in an effort to stand out. “I’m a smaller showroom. In a bigger building with big showrooms, I can get lost in the shuffle. Here, I’m right off the elevator. You can’t miss me,” he said. Nakagawa also said he liked the upstart feel of the building. “We’re like a little community. There is a lot of cohesion between our lines, and it makes sense for us to band together.”
Traffic during the Fall/Holiday market was slow, Nakagawa said, adding, “I don’t mind. This is our first market here. My main concern was getting here, getting set up. Getting the word out is the next thing.”
Buyers may be surprised by the new building. Signage for the building went up just prior to the Fall/Holiday Fashion Market, and marketing has been largely limited to fliers and word-of-mouth. “This is the first market that we have a solid group of tenants,” Rosen said. To help spread the news about the building and to help assemble a good mix of tenants, the Academy Awards Clothing Showrooms recently brought on Anita Herrera, formerly of the Pooltradeshow, which features young, contemporary and streetwear brands.
