Investors Are Carefully Curating the DTLA Retail Mix

National retail brands are beginning to eye more neighborhoods in Downtown, but investors are careful to strike a perfect balance between cool boutiques and national chains. Some neighborhoods in the market—like the Central Business District and South Park—have the density that will allow for national tenants, while Broadway and the Arts District need to be careful signing national tenants.

“There are certain streets and certain neighborhoods in Downtown Los Angeles where you want to be careful about how many national brands end up there because it may hurt the overall vibe of the neighborhood,” Justin Weiss, VP of brokerage at Kennedy Wilson, tells GlobeSt.com. “A place like the Arts District is a good example of that, and it will be interesting to see what happens over the next five years. National brands are eyeing that neighborhood, but there might be a lot of push back if they start to arrive there because it could change the dynamic of the neighborhood. In the Central Business District or South Park, there is so much density that there is room for everything and there should be everything.”