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.”

Weiss recently signed three national retail tenants at South Park by Windsor in the blossoming Olympic Corridor. The South Park market is seeing tremendous impact from national brands, but every neighborhood has a unique retail footprint. “You have more retail coming into South Park than any other neighborhood,” says Weiss. “If you look a the amount of hard good retailers that have come together and built critical mass within a block or two, then you would have to look at a market like Broadway. There, you have more highly designed and trendy tenants. You are also seeing nice announcements in the Arts District. We are also working really hard on Oceanwide Plaza.”

Restaurants are a great example of the balance between national and mom-and-pops, and why their need to be a balance between the two to serve residents. “People want a confluence of food places that are national and more approachable and mom-and-pop places that tend to be pricier and have more of a hip factor,” says Weiss. “They want places where they can go on a daily basis. We need more of that in Downtown Los Angeles.”

Although Broadway and South Park are seeing the most retail activity as a result of growth and new demand, some retailers are having trouble adapting to emerging neighborhoods. “Some retailers still see the financial district as the place that they want to be because of the office buildings, but once you see the Olympic corridor completed and 11^th Street, there will be even more tenants that say South Park is the place where they need to be,” says Weiss.

Instant Insights /

Investors Are Carefully Curating the DTLA Retail Mix

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