More Showrooms for Fashion District
Just when it appeared the Los Angeles Fashion District was maxing out on its real estate offerings, another developer has come up with a plan for a $62 million apparel wholesale mart on the eastern boundaries of the district.
Shawn Zackary of Paramount Textiles and Mayer Separzadeh of Action Investment Group Inc. have paired to form a limited partnership to develop a 109-unit open-air wholesale center at 813 E. 12th Street.
The center, to be called Stanford Wholesale Mart, will offer apparel showroom space from 600 to 1,500 square feet with 18-foot ceilings.
The developers are demolishing a cold storage facility on the property and plan to build a four-story facility near 12th and Crocker, which is set to open in May 2007.
In addition, the developers are planning to build a secondary building across the street from the site and connect both buildings with a sky bridge. That project is slated for late 2007 or 2008.
Zackary said leasing will open in two to three months, but added that he is already gaining lots of interest from the Korean manufacturing community in Los Angeles.
“Lots of chains and boutiques shop this area and the wholesalers there compete well with the California Market Center and other buildings. Most of the business deals with juniors and trend-oriented products. It’s one of the fastest-growing segments right now,” said Zackary.
The developers said they expect lots of junior apparel manufacturers to take up residence in the center. The project is positioned to take advantage of traffic from the popular San Pedro Wholesale Mart and will extend the emerging area known as “Ducasse Alley,” which is in between Crocker Street and Towne Avenue.
Unlike a lot of the businesses in the area that operate as wholesale and retail centers, the Stanford Mart will deal strictly to the trade, said Zackary. And unlike the current trend of offering condominium formats in which tenants can sell their spaces, space will only be offered for lease.
The lower two levels of the development will be designated for showrooms with parking on the upper two levels. A bank space and small food court are also part of the plan.
The upper-floor parking keeps construction costs down and makes the project pedestrian friendly.
“It’s a concept we’ve kind of pioneered here in the Fashion District along with commercial condominiums,” said Fashion District Executive Director Kent Smith.
Zackary said the city is expected to make its final approvals on the project within the next couple of weeks.
Zackary’s partner Separzadeh has extensive real estate experience, having developed more than 35 properties in California and Arizona.
The Stanford project will be one of the largest Fashion District developments since the San Pedro Wholesale Mart opened in the late 1990s.
“We hope to stimulate the local economy with this development. There’s a shortage of stores in that area right now,” Zachary said.
For more information, call (213) 388- 9990. —Robert McAllister
