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THIRD STREET’S INDEPENDENT SPIRIT

Third Street in West Hollywood, Calif., a coveted location between two major shopping destinations, is quickly becoming the desired of upscale niche retailers.

Los Angeles stores are often clustered in a mall or along a promenade, making large stretches of street retail a rarity in this city. But the retail corridor along Third Street, a collection of boutiques, restaurants and service stores, is emerging as a walkable and hip shopping district.

Spanning 15 blocks from Fairfax Avenue to La Cienega Boulevard, Third Street draws affluent 20- and 30-somethings flocking to the likes of apparel boutique Built by Wendy or a popular brunch spot called Toast.

Other area retailers include The Cook’s Library, a cooking-related book store; Douglas Fir, a men’s clothing store; Flight 001, a travel accessory store; home furnishings store In House; Puppies & Babies; Scout LA, a women’s apparel store; and Sigerson Morrison, an upscale, national shoe retailer. Dog groomers, hair and nail salons and dry cleaners are also part of the show.

The stores are small, just 1,200 to 2,400 square feet, creating an intimate shopping experience, and it’s not uncommon to spot a Hollywood starlet browsing the racks. “It has definitely emerged as a hip and funky area,” said Fariba Kavian, a senior adviser at the local office of commercial real estate advisement firm Sperry Van Ness.

The rise of Third Street is relatively recent. Though residents shot down a proposition last year to add residential space above the stores, the resulting spotlight attracted investment. Additionally, the area is benefiting from the “anchor” presence of major shopping destinations The Grove and the Beverly Center. Geared as an entertainment destination, The Grove, owned by Los Angeles-based developer Caruso Affiliated Holdings, is a 575,000-square-foot indoor-outdoor shopping complex complete with an exterior fountain and a train ride. Numerous restaurants and a movie theater help make the place a major attraction. Additionally, The Grove sits adjacent to the sprawling Farmer’s Market.

About a mile down the street from these is Beverly Center, offering 878,000 square feet of gross leasable area, owned by Taubman Centers. All three of these shopping areas offer different experiences, and they all manage “to complement each other,” says Kavian. “They aren’t taking away from one another.”

According to Aj D. Jemison, general manager of Beverly Center, the street life of Third Street has created a certain synergy for the whole retail area. “I’ll see people waiting outside to get into a café, or having a cup of coffee outside on the street, and I love seeing that,” she said. “It’s an outdoor, walkable space — it’s very pleasant.”

Rents range from $30 to $80 a square foot, depending on the location and physical condition of the space, says Jeannette Moon, managing director of the national retail division of Studley, a New York City-based commercial brokerage firm with offices in Los Angeles. Given the area’s proximity to the tony Beverly Hills and Hancock Park neighborhoods, Moon cites an affluent and desirable demographic. No one company owns the space. Instead, the area’s landlords are small, independent companies that have owned the buildings for years.

To date, the two biggest problems facing the area are a lack of surface parking and some traffic congestion along Third Street throughout the day. But it’s unlikely the parking will be expanded, given the cost of land in West Hollywood, Kavian says.

Regardless, she says, interest in the area will only increase, and an upscale name like Jimmy Choo could fit in nicely. A mall retailer would be more likely to be interested.

— DS