The "Coming Soon" sign was installed earlier this week announcing the arrival of Ross Dress for Less on Broadway
Earlier this week, Ross Dress for Less installed two large banner signs announcing “Coming Soon” on the front of the historic Woolworth Building on Broadway. Back in January 2012, Ross made retail news when they leased out 39,000 square feet of space in the historic Woolworth Building (built in 1920).
Buttons & Bows is a new buy/sell shop in the Historic Core offering high-end designers such as Alexander Wang and Marc Jacobs
Buttons & Bows is a new buy/sell and consignment retail store that opened a couple of weeks ago in the Historic Core, bringing to Downtown LA’s growing fashion scene some of today’s hottest designers. What started off as an online eBay store has become Monique Aquino’s and Karen Marley’s (yes, Bob Marley’s daughter!) first brick and mortar retail shop carrying designers like Alexander Wang, Jason Wu, Dior, and Marc Jacobs.
(Click image to enlarge) A preliminary rendering of The Broadway Mall, a new ground up shopping center proposed for the NE corner of 4th/Broadway (Photo: Sassony Group)
Back in 2007, you may remember that the short nondescript building that stands at the corner of 4th and Broadway (NE corner) caught on fire in the wee hours of the night. For over 5 years since the fire, the tattered structure has stood empty surrounded by scaffolds waiting for the right time to be redeveloped. Could we be close to seeing some development activity as momentum is gaining on Broadway after both Umamicatessen and Famima have recently opened?
Famima on Broadway is now open (24 hours a day)
Just a couple of weeks ago, we saw Famima still building out their newest and sixth location in Downtown LA on Broadway. It is now officially open and has given us yet another glimpse into the future of what Broadway could look like: a beautiful street that is clean and well taken care of instead of the dilapidated condition that most of the buildings and shops are in today.
Macy's Plaza is a poorly designed shopping center in Downtown LA that is not only visually deleterious, but impedes pedestrian connections between South Park and the Financial District, impeding Downtown LA's growth potential
A source in the retail industry has informed me that Macy’s in Downtown LA (inside the Big Brown Bunker known as Macy’s Plaza sitting in the most prime location in Downtown LA’s Financial District) will be going through a “$7 million” renovation in the near future. So I checked with the customer service office inside Macy’s Plaza to see if I could dish up some more info. A lady I spoke to at Macy’s Plaza said she could not confirm much about the details but she was aware that “some kind of renovation” would take place “next year.”
Woop dee doo.
Posted in architecture, downtown los angeles, economic development, financial district, pedestrian oriented, real estate, retail, smart growth
Tagged bad design los angeles, bath and body works downtown la, express downtown la, macy's plaza downtown la, macy's plaza dtla, macy's plaza jamison properties, macy's plaza los angeles, sheraton hotel downtown la, ugly architecture los angeles, victoria's secret downtown la
The sixth Famima to open in Downtown LA will be on Broadway at the Spring Arcade Building
Back in 2005 when I worked at the DCBID, I had read about Famima in a trade paper (staying on top of trends) and contacted the still-unknown Japanese convenience store chain in an effort to recruit them to open downtown. At the time, I called their corporate office in Tokyo (Family Mart) and spent a good 10 minutes on the line as someone on the other end tried to find an English speaker. Eventually, someone who did speak English came on the line and told me to call their US corporate number in Torrance here in LA.
The Huntington went through a $3 million renovation recently that has transformed this intersection at 8th and Main from seedy to one that is relevant again
The Downtown News called the former Huntington Hotel (built in 1910) “a notorious crime magnet” where “rats ran rampant” before it was successfully renovated last year from a low-income hotel to a cleaned-up 204-unit apartment building with “Euro-style singles.” According to the Huntington Apartment’s website, “Rooms include a free Mini Refrigerator and Microwave. All utilites included. Discount memberships to Gym also available.” The $3 million renovation transformed an intersection at 8th and Main that you would stay away from to one that has attracted a new influx of businesses that will make this intersection relevant again and given back to the Downtown LA community.
Den.m Bar grand opening during the March 2012 Downtown LA Art Walk
We all know that LA is the denim capital of the world. What premium denim line isn’t from LA? Even so, LA’s vast land of denim just got a little hotter last night with the debut of Den.m Bar (during the Downtown LA Art Walk), a new retail concept now open in Downtown LA’s Historic Core. The name of the store aptly describes the first custom denim workshop to open in Downtown LA (in recent times at least) where a variety of popular denim cuts are tailored to the customer’s unique physical specificities.
What will Chinatown LA’s new Walmart Neighborhood Market look like?
First the rumors of Walmart coming to Chinatown in Downtown LA and now the confirmation (via Curbed LA) from last week. Instead of the new smaller urban concept, Walmart Express, that I had initially guessed would open in Chinatown, it will actually be a larger (but still a lot smaller than a regular Walmart) called the “Walmart Neighborhood Market.” At 33,000 square feet, it will focus heavily on groceries and from the pictures on the Walmart LA website, look very similar to a Fresh & Easy market. According to Curbed LA, the market will begin construction this summer and open in early 2013.
Work crews install new escalators that mark a milestone in the new shopping center's extensive remodel (Photo: Gary Leonard)
The active construction going on at FIGat7th–currently undergoing a $41 million remodeling job–continues to chug along toward an expected fall 2012 grand opening as new escalators were installed over the past weekend on Saturday morning (2/11/12). A crane was brought in to hoist the new escalators into place creating a new pedestrian-oriented entrance along Figueroa St. The placement of the escalators along the sidewalk allows pedestrians to access the newly remodeled FIGat7th with ease instead of the former placement of escalators tucked away, hidden in the back of the complex.
