California Apparel News

To many in the apparel industry, the Emrani family is best known as owner of Emday Fabrics, a 60-year-old textile firm.

But when the Emranis hosted a party earlier this year to unveil Packard Lofts, its luxurious multifamily development in downtown Los Angeles, it also introduced many in the industry to Venice Investments, the Emrani’s real estate business.

The family is following a well-worn path between fashion and real estate, charted by the late Jack Needleman of Anjac Properties, and more recently by Uri Harkham of Hype/Jonathan Martin fame.

Led by four brothers and two nephews, the Emrani family business encompasses Emday Fabrics, Venice Investments, home furnishings business Melrose Home Collections and VillaNova Deacute;cor, an upholstery fabrics company, all based in Los Angeles.

Emday offers a mix of domestic and imported knits and wovens, including everything from crepes, boucleacute;s, denim, knit chiffons, piqueacute;s and glitter fabrications to fiber contents such as nylon, Lycra, acetate, polyester, Lurex and microfibers.

The VillaNova offerings include chenilles, suedes, damasks, drapery and silks, while the Melrose Collections deal with bedding, curtains, furniture coverings and other home-deacute;cor items.

“The fabrics/textile business will always be active,” Joseph Emrani said. “The nature of it will change and the way you handle it will be different. There’s definitely more competition now.”

As general partner of Venice Investments, Joseph Emrani runs the real estate business with his brother Yahouda, or “Youdi” as he is more commonly known in the industry. Brothers Aby and David handle the fabric business while Aby’s sons Jake and John oversee the home furnishings division. With more than a dozen young children between them, it’s likely the Emrani business will remain family run for quite some time.

Mixing real estate with apparel and textiles businesses usually comes through growth as companies look to parlay profits into lucrative ventures. In Southern California, no other commodity has proven so fruitful. Real estate has outpaced the stock market and most all other channels for investors, so it’s not unusual seeing so many apparel companies getting involved, Joseph Emrani said.

“We’ve always been involved in real estate,” he said. “Whenever we had some extra money, we’d put it into real estate.”

Catching the loft boom

After developing and refurbishing several retail and commercial properties, the Emranis shifted to residential properties, taking advantage of downtown Los Angeles’ recent renaissance. The company is putting the finishing touches on Packard Lofts, a 116-unit unit luxury loft building, on the corner of Hope and Olympic near the Fashion District and behind the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising.

Venice Investments renovated the historic Packard building, which once housed the first Packard automobile distributorship on the West Coast. Early this year, the Emranis hauled in a dozen historic Packards from the Earle Anthony Collection as a way to illustrate the building’s historical significance.

Venice developed the Packard project as a condominium development, although it will initially be marketed as rental property. As Packard Lofts gains the necessary approvals for condominium status, it will provide extra quality for tenants, Youdi Emrani said.

Venice’s project is in the heart of downtown Los Angeles’ South Park district, about three blocks from the Anschutz Entertainment Group’s massive, multibillion-dollar L.A. Live entertainment center—which will feature the Nokia Theater, shops and restaurants— and surrounded by other construction projects that vary from unoccupied buildings being converted to condominiums and apartments to new multifamily and hotel towers.

“Downtown urban living is happening right now,” said Joseph Emrani. “There are 2,000 units coming on line within two blocks over the next year here.”

Though rising interest rates have cooled the housing market, the overall outlook remains strong, given the housing shortage in Southern California, the Emranis said.

The company is already at work on its second project, Hope Lofts, a 250-unit, 25-story complexon Hope Street, set to begin construction next year.

Eye on Sunset

While lofts have taken on a new significance in Venice’s portfolio, the company also develops retail and various commercial projects; it’s revving up construction for a retail project in West Hollywood, Calif.

Sunset Park is planned to encompass 100,000 square feet within a six-story building. The West Hollywood development has been the subject of recent controversy due to Johnny Depp’s involvement. The actor, who owns a home on a hill overlooking the proposed projects, has fought the Emranis and the city of West Hollywood in court, arguing that the proposed project would affect his views of the streets. He filed a suit, which was thrown out of court. Now, he’s filed an appeal. The story has been fodder for news organizations, as well as tabloids, and has put the spotlight on the normally reserved Emrani family.

“Newspapers in Russia even picked up this story,” Joseph Emrani said. “We couldn’t believe it. But we’ve received overwhelming support from everybody and are proceeding with the project.”

Depp’s court challenges have cost Venice about a year of delays and legal fees, but the Emranis are taking it in stride.

“It’s the best business there is because it’s forever,” Youdi Emrani said of being in commercial real estate. “Timing is everything. Nothing better than being in it at the right time and nothing worse than being in it at the wrong time.”