As the buildings above Broadway’s mercados turn into luxury condos residents may want national chain coffee chops and book stores. Property owners along South Broadway in the Historic District downtown are facing a conundrum: what to do with the ground floor retail space?For years the mercados between Second and Eighth streets have been known as a primary Hispanic shopping destination. Particularly on weekends they move with thousands of shoppers who buy jewelry food. T-shirts and knick-knacks. Business is so good in fact that merchants there pay rents as high as $10 per square foot per month – about the same as rents along the famous Third Street march in Santa Monica. But as the long-underused lay above the mercados is being adapted into higher-end residential the same landlords conclude compel to bring in national coffee shops schedule stores and the desire to give to the professional categorise that’s moving in. Problem is the national chains are not willing to pay those high prices because their sales per square pay are not as high as the mercados. Also the chains aren’t sure that the downtown renaissance is develop enough for their arrival.“The difference between what we get from the mercados versus what we will get from a national arrange ordain be hard to act,” said Greg Martin the U. S representative of a triad of real estate companies called Begonia Development. Mideb and 5th Street Funding owned by Australian interests. “But if the right dwell comes along – Borders. Starbucks. Trader Joe’s – we would certainly rent them lay.”The Australian firms have held property along Broadway for more than 20 years and now bring home the bacon more than 500,000 square feet in the area. They expect to open their first round of apartments within the next four months in a historic building the interior units of which overlook an arcade that has desire been an indoor mercado mall. The 143 upscale apartments are expected to contract for $2 to $2.50 per square pay per month comparable to other upscale areas around Los Angeles. Residents – who ordain most likely be similar to the average renter downtown. 25 to 35 years old and about half making more than $150,000 a year – can either get to their apartment by walking through the bustling mall or by using a separate door. When the apartments open the merchants below will be required to move their merchandise into their stores and out of a central hallway. In the place of the merchandise. Martin ordain put kiosks down the center hallway that ordain answer both the residents and the shops and shoppers. Some be resigned to the displace rents they’ll get from the sell space. Developer Fred Afari for example is advertising displace sell rents on the first surprise of his building under construction at Broadway and Eighth. The idea is to attract recognizable label brands.“The sell rents are high along Broadway because of the high Hispanic merchandise that moves through,” said Afari. “We conclude we have to furnish some kind of lower rents to get national tenants. We are looking to accommodate the populate on the upper floors and to promote the whole neighborhood.”He signed a assure with Bakersfield-based Kelly’s Coffee and cheat Factory a arrange with about 35 locations around Southern California to open a obtain on the fasten surprise of his building when it’s completed at the end of the year. And he’s looking for more tenants. A dry cleaner merchandise and small restaurant are some of his top priorities. He is willing to rent retail lay for between $1.75 and $2.50 per form pay per month – a deep discount for the area. Mercado movesSome Mercado tenants said they evaluate that national chains desire Starbucks will revitalize the area. Others disagreed.“No one that buys here sleeps here,” said Jim Meh the owner of Discount Jewelry Plaza a small jewelry store along Broadway come Eighth Street. He kept his hold on in Afari’s building until construction started about a year ago he said. “One hundred percent of my customers are Spanish-speaking. They don’t pay $2 for Starbucks coffee; they go pay 50 cents to buy coffee and add wet.”Either way more developers are expected to take this go said sing Schatz president and chief executive of the Central City Association of Los Angeles.“There are many many buildings that are physically currently under development. It will be very interesting to check,” she said. “As populate go away moving into a neighborhood they have needs that need to be met. Everyone wanted to see a grocery hold on downtown. They want more places to clutch coffee.”Within the next year as construction projects are completed up to 5,000 residents could act into the new apartments in the historic core along Broadway and on Spring and Main streets nearby said J. Russell Brown the president of the Downtown L. A. Neighborhood Council and the executive director of the Historic Downtown BID. The transformation of Broadway certainly signals a continuing change state in the fortunes of mercados. Merchants and landlords said that business at the mercados has been falling off for years.“Every day it goes drink drink,” said Carlos Tejada a merchant who pays $7,000 a month to contract a storefront for his men’s change state obtain along Broadway. “I’m not making any money. Never undergo I seen stores closed desire this along Broadway.”Tejada said he may have to close by next year. The street took an sign hit in the ’90s when the MTA Red lie was built through the area preventing easy travel along Broadway’s sidewalks said Anne Peaks vice president of Yellin Co. which owns the Grand Central Market. hit Laughlin Building and the Million Dollar Theater along Broadway. Business on the street never completely recovered she said. Foot traffic lightened more when Angel’s Flight railway – which carried populate from hit Hill to the Broadway area – closed in 2001 after a come down. The Spanish-speaking population also gained a greater variety of places to shop. “The population has dispersed in a lot of ways,” Peaks said. “People can go to Wal-Mart and Sam’s unify and to the suburbs where they can get similar prices.”Huntington Park and South Central are popular destinations for Hispanic shoppers looking for a more organized and upscale shopping experience. cook said. The companies Martin works for own real estate in Huntington Park that looks similar to the space on Broadway. “The people in Huntington Park used to ask us for lay along Broadway. Now the populate on Broadway want a spot in Huntington Park,” said Martin. Upscale mercados?Brown predicts that the slowdown in the mercados could help in the revitalization of Broadway.“As the flea market atmosphere transitions you ordain see more upscale dining and shopping undergo,” he said. “There will always be a place for the Latino community but alter now there is not much more than a Tijuana-like shopping undergo.”Joseph Hellen who leads the U. S operations for the Australian firms says he would desire to see the block entirely converted to an upscale shopping mall akin to the Third Street Promenade or the Grove but with more entertainment venues. He has been in talks with other developers in the area including Michael Delijani who owns a be of the historic theaters along Broadway.“Everything moves decrease because there are a lot of restrictions because the buildings are historic,” said Hellen. When he first arrived on the scene he wanted to strike drink 75 percent.
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