The Sad State of Retail at 7th/Spring

A couple thoughts on this issue;

[From the article...] _ 'Charles Tien, president of the building's homeowners association, said he and other board members have to balance residents' concerns with the realities of the retail market in the Historic Core.

"Even if we have the best broker on the job they still can't get us anything good," said Tien, who added that "there's nothing that says [residents] can regulate what goes in downstairs_."

It doesn't follow that they shouldn't though. The homeowners ARE the major stockholders. PERIOD. Barry Shy made the bulk of his money already on the building by selling units to the homeowners. They, not Shy should have the last word on who is or is not RENTING space below.

[And...]"Obviously it would behoove him to put higher-end stores downstairs. It's just that the market's not there yet," Tien said.

You mean the market for high profits, right? Many of the building owners are holding out for that golden goose tenant. Sure we all want to win the lottery, Pal. If they really were concerned with the quality of life on the corner, they could find the right tenant. The Pig and Whistle had eyes on their original location on 7th, I think. How cool would that be? They passed because the building's owner knew they could make bank by waiting, and waiting. At some point "the market will be there". In the mean time, the storefronts remain empty (but for the few courageous owners and tenants) leaving downtown mostly unserved.

"It doesn't follow that they shouldn't though. The homeowners ARE the major stockholders. PERIOD. Barry Shy made the bulk of his money already on the building by selling units to the homeowners. They, not Shy should have the last word on who is or is not RENTING space below."

Shy -owns- the ground floor commercial unit space, so unless the Bartlett HOA's C&Cs explicitly state what kind of businesses can or cannot be tenants there, I don't see how the building residents can "have the last say", short of just constantly whining and/or protesting to Shy. No?

"Shy -owns- the ground floor commercial unit space, so unless the Bartlett HOA's C&Cs explicitly state what kind of businesses can or cannot be tenants there, I don't see how the building residents can "have the last say""

Well, the Bartlett is about 14 floors, right? That puts the ground retail floor at less then ten percent of the building. The HOA determines what the other -owners- can or can't do with their units. Once the titles record, Shy is no longer the the major stockholder, the HOA should have ninety percent of the say. I'm not saying that is the reality of the day, just that I feel it should be that way.

I remember years ago looking at buying in this building. When I read the various contracts, a lot of things seemed fishy. My attorney agreed. One detail which stuck in my mind was how the voting was structured for the HOA. It seemed to stack the deck heavily in favor of Mr. Shy retaining a lot of control.

As always, I'm not surprised by this situation.

I believe Mr. Shy could have kept ownership of the retail space, while selling the rest of the building to the HOA. That's just a possibility, not necessarily what happened.

The idea that "the market isn't there" is ridiculous. We have wine bars, restaurants and gourmet markets opening already. Was there a market when the Higgins created their terrific retail spaces? What about when the Santee Court went in? What about 4th and Main? New developments like the Chapman have already secured Kelly's Coffee and Fudge. Developers with vision will create the market and the residents will flock to those places. It's unfortunate that the board president has bought into Shy's lazy and community-hostile assessment of the situation. Luckily, we have residents in the building who are creative and active and don't believe Shy's B.S.

Two words.... Slum Lord !!!

The community is trying to turn itself around, take some positive steps forward... but Shy wants to take two steps back and undo the makeover that so many have worked so hard for.

He's in a skid row state of mind...

Glad to see the midget didn't do the same at the higgins. The higgins is a good example of DT residential and commercial space while the bartlett is a damn shame period.

Higgins had a different guy (Andrew something) handling the retail. The final chapter hasn't been written on The Bartlett. Despite Shy's presence, it's a great building with a terrific community. Stay Tuned.

I wonder if it would have been better, and by that I mean in the long term interests of the landlord, to simply paint the interior of the empty storefront white and leave the lights on 24/7 than to rent to an adult video business.

My novice perception is this is the type of short-sighted decision which makes me hesitate when considering purchasing an unit in any building touched by this developer.

It's strange as so many landlords seem to have committed to the long-haul but continue to make choices such as this, or the more pervasive encouragement of over-filming, which are detrimental to sustaining retail tenants who will pay higher rents to be close to the density of upper-middle class residents wanting to populate Downtown but turned off by things like the corner porn store.

i'm not a huge fan of barry shy, but to his credit the higgins has good retail and his building at sixth and spring has art displayed in it's windowfronts while it waits for a tenant. on the otherhand, his building on 5th and broadway booted riteaid so that it could have parking on the first floors making the entire sidewalk far from pedestrian friendly.

bottom line, from everything i've heard about mr. shy, i would steer clear of his buildings.

Shy was not responsible for the Retail at Higgins. He had a partner who handled it.

The previous poster is correct, however. Shy is not the landlord of The Bartlett. He only owns the retail, and parking.

The majority of owners at The Bartlett are smart, creative people and we are now focused on improving the state of the retail. Stay tuned.

I'm moving down to LA from the Bay Area, and I find this story surprising because here it would be almost a non-issue. San Francisco, Berkeley, San Jose, and Mountain View all have such stores coexisting alongside mid-market retail stores, and no one really cares. If we had mass-vacancies, then we would be worried.

Apathy doesn't always equate to something being right.

Yeah, what is wrong with us Puritanicals ?

L.A. is the Porn capital of the world, but we can't stand our own product?

I don't mean to support Barry Shy, but I think everyone is getting upset over something silly. I feel sorry for the shop owner. He just opened his business and without getting a chance he's getting shut down. So what if it's porn? It brings variety. Who needs another coffee shop or restaurant? There's plenty other great ones out there to support.

The people moving Downtown are looking at half-million dollar investments in residential lofts. Barry Shy is asking nearly $1 million for a floorplan in one of his buildings a block away.

When was the last time you saw a porn store on the corner in a neighborhood where the average cost of a home was mid-six figures?

I have to agree with the idea, who cares? People offended by porn in this hyper-sexual world we live in. Why the day I read about this, the L.A. Times had an article on the front page about some kinky hotel in San Diego. The L.A. Weekly delivered The Little Sexy Black Book. Presumably, the flush residents of downtown will protest these items as well and keep them from polluting their fine homes.

Again, it strikes me that people move here without any idea of what the neighborhood is like. Further, they expect it to immediately conform to their vision of some fantasy 'hip' downtown. They'd also have me believe that they don't consume porn. Puh-lease!

My worry is not the porn, per se, but the fact that one hundred home owners have no say on the use of the space on the ground floor of their building. The funny thing is that I'd be more worried that they would put a KFC there and (in addition to the fire hazard) the place would smell like grease 24/7. And it's not that I think NIMBY-ism is healthy for an organically vibrant neighborhood, it just bothers me that the HOA has no sway at all in these matters.

"My worry is not the porn, per se, but the fact that one hundred home owners have no say on the use of the space on the ground floor of their building. The funny thing is that I'd be more worried that they would put a KFC there and (in addition to the fire hazard) the place would smell like grease 24/7. And it's not that I think NIMBY-ism is healthy for an organically vibrant neighborhood, it just bothers me that the HOA has no sway at all in these matters. "

They (the HOA) obviously did, or else Shy wouldn't be asking that porn store tenant to leave.

It all boils down to money. Property value goes up, money in your pocket goes up when you sell. If a porn store opens in your building, demand for your property, and hence its value is going to go down. Plain and simple economics. Just because someone purchases a property in downtown LA does NOT mean that he/she should be accepting of everything there. What do you think Mr. Antonio (or whoever) would say if a pornstore tried to open in the LA Live complex? "Accept it, people, it's part of LA and you're all porn users/lovers anyway, right?" I think not? Sure I feel sorry that the porn store owner has wasted $ in having to relocate now, but that's an issue with him and Shy, and either he needs to take it up with Shy, or his hands are tied due to the fineprint in his tenancy contract. And since there are so many people/places around downtown LA who would embrace having a porn store right next to them, it shouldn't be a problem for him to set up a new shop and start his booming business, right?

I cannot believe Barry Shy would let a porn store move in.

Spring street has the MOST potential out of any street in this entire city to be a pedestrian friendly street with wonderful shops, restaurants, cafes, and bars.

This is a horrible step in the wrong direction.

Thankfully it looks like the store will be closing because of the controversy.

IS IT TOO MUCH TO ASK FOR A NICE HIP STORE OR CAFE THAT STAYS OPEN LATE??

We could have 3rd street promenade in a matter of months if people would just work together!

or you could have it now by moving back to the westside.

Could someone, perhaps Mr. Swartz, provide a list of 'acceptable' uses for street retail in downtown? "Nice hip store" is a most imprecise term for me. (Possibly, this imprecision is by design.) Is the 3rd Street Promenade "nice [and] hip"? I'd never have connected the two? Is the 3rd Street Promenade to be the acceptable paradigm for retail development in downtown? I am highly puzzled by these assertions.

Face it, some of the people are freaked out about a porn store moving in because that would attract Skid Row residents or homeless (of whatever color) to their building and to Spring Street, instead of that demographic staying over on Los Angeles Street or further east. I believe this is a reasonable concern when trying to upgrade an urban neighborhood.

Porn stores are old hat anyway. People order their porn on line or download it directly. The only people who would go to a porn store in 2007 are people who can't afford an internet connection, i.e. Skid Row residents.

By the way, the business in there before was an "upscale" business, a pet supply store, but they moved over to Second Street. They must have not had enough customers on that corner, so maybe the customer base just isn't there yet.

The pet supply store had to close because deviants kept walking in asking to buy animal porn DVDs.

Just my guess, of course.

"They (the HOA) obviously did, or else Shy wouldn't be asking that porn store tenant to leave."

I guess you're right, I only wish their involvement was more proactive, explicit, and less reactionary... The poor dude is going to have to find a pet store to sell off all his porn DVDs.....

19... last I checked it was getting hard to find a home ANYWHERE in this town for much under the "mid six figures"... I know there are some, but hey - half a mil is just a little over the average price here in SoCal now.

To quote Meryl Streep during her acceptance speech at the last Golden Globes: "It's amazing what you get if you quietly, clearly and authoritatively demand it."

I for one wish I could afford to live in downtown LA, but my reality is that I can't. But people got to remember, downtown is not the suburbs with soccer moms and 2.5 kids. Its an urban environment. Its alive, its gritty, and noisy with a mixture of people, cultures and even retail stores.

i for one am more concerned with the high number of bars opening up. Sure they will walk home and not drink and drive but come on.

the Bartlett should see into getting a Pinkberry , there is one opening soon in Little Tokyo. And have you guys noticed how many Quizno's have been popping up?- on figueroa, hope st, 7th st, etc.

And what is Laemmle theatres at Marriott hotel bldg. gonna do when LA Live Regal cinemas open?- are they gonna close or switch to only foreign/independent films. And I like porn too :)

Wanting to live downtown demands a certain level of liberalism, otherwise, you wouldn't dare make the move, unless you're filthy rich which, by definition, provides its unique bubble. The fact that the BB's HOA sweated Sweaty Shy in evicting a guy selling porn next to cheap socks and cheap shampoo and cheap eyeglasses and cheap blinking flags of bullshit is straight up embarrassing. What's next? Erecting a giant cross on the building? I guarantee none of the homos in the building (and I'm one of them) could give a shit if there's a porn store on the ground floor. Are the families waiting for Baby Gap to move in?

I'm a little late in the conversation but here's my 2 cents...

"I cannot believe Barry Shy would let a porn store move in. Spring street has the MOST potential out of any street in this entire city to be a pedestrian friendly street with wonderful shops, restaurants, cafes, and bars."

1.)I take it you've never been to Montreal. There are strip clubs next to Urban Outfitters. Adult stores next to the GAP...bars, dance clubs, churches...all on one strip. Rue de St. Catherine...and guess what, NOBODY CARES!

2.)You moved to Downtown L.A. You were either ignorant to what makes downtown just fine the way it is or you knew what downtown was and wanted to capitalize on the golden opportunity that's surging through...wanting to change it and make it hip and cute; kicking those unwanted vagrants out...then you are a fascist.

"IS IT TOO MUCH TO ASK FOR A NICE HIP STORE OR CAFE THAT STAYS OPEN LATE?? We could have 3rd street promenade in a matter of months if people would just work together!"

3.) I rest my case.