Retailing for the Boomtown
Boutique owners are prospecting a new market in San Diego’s East Village.
SAN DIEGO—Karina Morelos said she feels like an urban pioneer in premium denim. She opened her fashion boutique KandyApple on Sept. 9 in San Diego’s East Village, a neighborhood that’s going through an unprecedented residential building boom.
Boutique owners like Morelos are setting up shop in the hopes of being the first retailers to serve the giant urban community that this neighborhood is expected to become.
More than 10,000 residential units and 777,000 square feet of retail space are planned to be completed by 2010 in the area anchored by Petco Park, home of the Padres baseball team, according to Centre City Development Corp., downtown San Diego’s redevelopment agency.
The population of downtown San Diego is forecast to grow from the current 27,500 people to more than 90,000 by 2030. Morelos said these statistics are more than idle talk by bureaucrats because the skyline of her neighborhood is dominated by construction cranes.
“Everything is new,” she said. “It’s like someone dropped a bunch of Legos and started building.”
The new buildings will range from affordable housing to luxury apartments. The ground floor of many of these buildings will be reserved for retail, said Corinna Gattasso, associate vice president of Burnham Real Estate in San Diego. Monthly rates for commercial real estate currently range from $2 to $3.50 per square foot, Gattasso said.
And this boomtown retail is growing. Joining the recently opened KandyApple is The Commissary, a boutique specializing in streetwear brands such as Stussy. It will open in the East Village on Sept. 16. However, retailers such as Eric Ellington concede that their neighborhood is uncharted territory. “There’s no set demographic. It’s a brand-new market,” said Ellington, owner of casual-contemporary boutique Steady and streetwear boutique Unsteady.
The merchandising of these boutiques has emphasized gritty, art-inspired streetwear that seems more New York City than sun-kissed San Diego, but boutique owner Lara Dean- Fernandez predicts that East Village boutiques will be defined by fashion-savvy transplants from New York and San Francisco who are making new homes in San Diego.
She and her husband, Eduardo Fernandez, opened the 1,000-square-foot boutique The Assembly in the neighboring Gaslamp Quarter in February. They’ve thrived since then by specializing in fashions from Europe, Canada and California designers in the tourist-friendly neighborhood.
A top seller at The Assembly was the “Revolver” T-shirt by Cypress, Calif.–based Tank Farm. The T-shirt bearing an image of a large pistol retails at $27. Denims and tops by Netherlands- based G-Sus are staples at The Assembly. The G-Sus “LV” top is popular and costs $58.
Another big seller is Toronto-based label OK47. Its steelcolored military suit jacket for women costs $120. The matching pencil skirt bearing an image of a raven costs $84.
Anissa Williams also is banking on a fashion future for San Diego. She opened the 3,000-square-foot boutique I Am in the East Village in May after a successful career managing boutiques such as American Rag and Vin Baker in Los Angeles.
She reported top sellers for guys included denims by J.Lindeberg, $174, and a fleece blazer by Yoko Devereaux, $238. For girls, top sellers include a fitted dress with handkerchief details by Los Angeles–based Cesar Arellanes, $275, and a $182 Halston-inspired jumpsuit with a plunging V neckline, designed by T-Bags of Los Angeles.
Ellington hopes to cover his bases with streetwear and fashion. At streetwear-savvy Unsteady, top sellers include T-shirts by Melbourne, Australia–based Pam. The T-shirts bearing graffiti art cost $33. T-shirts by San Francisco’s The Imaginary Foundation feature psychedelic art with a Victorian flavor. The Tshirts cost $30 at the 300-square-foot store.
T-shirts take a more fashion oriented look at Steady, his 700-square-foot store. T-shirts by Costa Mesa, Calif.–based Trovata cost $44. T-shirts by Loomstate denim, based in New York City, also do well; they cost $55.
Morelos said she hopes the future of East Village boutiques will be rooted in the look of San Diego designers. She intends to sell one-of-a-kind pieces by designers from the San Diego campus of the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, along with $46 designer-style jeans by Los Angeles–based Angel Denim and $55 jackets featuring embroideries of dragonflies by Sugar Lips, also based in Los Angeles.
Loyalty to local shopping also may help this neighborhood grow from boomtown to big city. Dean-Fernandez and East Village boutique owners pooled funds to publish brochures to East Village shopping and dining establishments such as Pokez, a Mexican restaurant favored by East Villagers. Keeping the scene healthy is a preoccupation with people who live in the East Village.
It made Beau Lamontagne, editor of pop-culture magazine RE:UP, give his neighborhood a vote of confidence recently. While his magazine’s circulation bureau moved to New York City in June, RE:UP’s editorial offices and art and T-shirt boutique remained in San Diego. “The cheap rent started the boutique scene, but this neighborhood’s do-it-yourself ethic is going to keep this place unique,” he said.
