LATINO POWER Or Meat Section
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
13 20_sfvbj_req_main.qxp 4/15/2015 9:01 PM Page 13 San Fernando Valley Business Journal • April 20, 2015 SPECIAL REPORT REAL ESTATE QUARTERLY Stacked: Rudy Torres, assistant director of the Vallarta Supermarket in PHOTO BY THOMAS WASPER Winnetka, shows off the store’s large “carniceria,” LATINO POWER or meat section. L.A.’s growing Latino hree butchers work behind a long meat counter, lion residents were of Latino origin, growing 18 percent since 2000 population has more weighing and wrapping a stunning variety of – twice as fast as the Valley’s overall population, according to beef, pork, chicken and lamb. Next to them, a Colliers International. And the retail and real estate development buying power than many case displays five kinds of ceviche, a raw seafood sector that has grown up around them serves a consumer group that realize. But developers cured in citrus. Another counter offers no fewer eclipses mainstream American shoppers on several fronts. than a dozen kinds of fresh cheeses. For instance, Latinos go to the grocery store a whopping 26 are catching up with a Take in the enormous produce section, fragrant times a month, triple the average of the general population, bakery, restaurant tables and heavy foot traffic you might think according to the Food Marketing Institute, an industry organiza- trend changing retail. T Whole Foods you were in a swanky market. tion based in Arlington, Va. And with larger households and But the mariachi music and TV screen showing rodeo high- more home cooks, Latino shoppers spend $175 more at grocery lights would prove you wrong. This is not an artisanal grocer – stores annually than the national average, according to Nielsen By KAREN E. KLEIN it’s the Vallarta Supermarket that opened in a closed Albertson’s Co., a research firm based in New York. It says Latino buying Staff Reporter store in Winnetka in 2007. power in the U.S. will hit $1.5 trillion this year. While mainstream supermarkets are consolidating, shrinking For decades, however, mainstream real estate developers have their space and losing market share after decades of growth, been slow to embrace the population due to stereotypes, a lack supermarkets and other retailers catering to California’s growing, of market data and security concerns that keep them out of the 14.5 million-strong Latino population are thriving. densely populated, working-class neighborhoods dominated by Founded in 1985 as a 1,000-square-foot Van Nuys carneceria, Mexican and Central American immigrants. or butcher shop, Vallarta now has 41 stores throughout That’s been a long-term missed opportunity, said Matthew California. The chain opened its newest market in Canyon May, president of May Realty Advisors, a Sherman Oaks retail Country in February, and its growth plan calls for opening three brokerage. That leaves these neighborhoods with smaller, dated more annually until it is operating in 100 communities by 2030. As of last year, 38 percent of the San Fernando Valley’s 2.3 mil- Please see page 14 Also Plaza del Valle Cross-border Quarterly real Real estate review in this in photos. consultant. estate data. by submarket. section PAGE 18 PAGE 20 PAGE 21 PAGE 22 ➼ 13 20_sfvbj_req_main.qxp 4/15/2015 9:02 PM Page 14 5 14 SAN FERNANDO VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL APRIL 20, 2015 SPECIAL REPORT REAL ESTATE QUARTERLY PHOTO BY THOMAS WASPER PHOTO BY DAVID SPRAGUE Indoor, Outdoor: Shoppers at the Vallarta market in Winnetka sit for a bite to eat, left. Developer Cary Lefton next to a piece of artwork showcased at his Plaza del Valle. fast-growing Latino populations, and have 20-foot retail stalls traversed by open-air out, leasing the stalls on a month-to-month Continued from page 13 the added bonus of extensive land available paseos. He installed architectural features and basis to entrepreneurs for about $3 a square for development. artwork from San Miguel de Allende that he foot – slightly higher than the local average. centers that often struggle with customer Sneider’s upcoming project, called Amara, sourced on buying trips to central Mexico. And The 70 spaces are fully occupied, with about service and quality. is scheduled to open in 2017 and will feature he still takes a personal interest in improving 20 percent annual turnover. “They’re underserved by retail and over- 500,000 square feet of retail space along the the look and operation of the center. Lefton’s market research shows why the served by work ethic. You’re less likely to find 101 freeway in Camarillo. “I picked up these at a market in center is always bustling: There are more than a national credit tenant, but the family owner- Calabasas a couple weekends ago,” Lefton 742,000 people living within 5 miles, more ship that is there pitches in and works twice as Retail rebirth said, pointing to a series of Tin Man-style than 60 percent of whom are Latino. Median hard to keep the business going,” May said. The struggle to renovate an aging Panorama metal mariachi players adorning a plaza bal- household income is $47,000, close to the Gradually the Valley is catching up, with City shopping center is typical of the chal- cony. “I thought they’d be perfect there.” Los Angeles County average. new developments like Arturo Sneider’s $78 lenges that face developers in Latino neighbor- Since it opened in 2004, it’s clear that the At Plaza del Valle, national brands like million Plaza Pacoima and remodeled retail hoods – and how much they have overcome. 14-acre Plaza del Valle has been embraced by Sprint and Wells Fargo Bank operate centers like Cary J. Lefton’s $19 million The property was 30 percent vacant and a the community, with a children’s playground, alongside entrepreneurs running businesses Plaza del Valle springing up in Latino haven for prostitution when developer Lefton, offices leased by local non-profits and a room that have outgrown garages and kitchen enclaves over the past 15 years. These centers of Agora Realty & Management Inc. in used for neighborhood meetings. tables. Barbers, upholsterers and tailors share typically include a mix of national brands, Sherman Oaks, acquired it in 1999 for $10 “It’s a place where neighbors are buying space with tax preparers, bookstores and an like Anna’s Linens, Marshall’s and Auto million. And as soon as escrow closed, a mur- from neighbors,” Lefton said. Internet café. As shoppers stroll, they look Zone, along with mom-and-pop shops and der occurred on the site. The developer spent $9 million on the down at a Hollywood Boulevard-style “Walk health care clinics. By that time, however, Lefton was commit- project in addition to the property costs, of Fame” that honors Latino entertainers and And it’s not just the Valley – Ventura ted. He completely revamped the 1950s-era financing it with bank loans and private equi- County and the Antelope Valley also boast center, closing in a parking lot to create 20-by- ty funds. But he’s managed to make it pencil Please see page 16 Charles Dunn Company proudly congratulates Stacy Vierheilig-Fraser, Women In Business Honoree Career record of over Stacy Vierheilig-Fraser $500 million in sale Senior Manging Director & lease transactions “Stacy is a talented and hard-working leader that has built her successful career Top leasing agent on providing her clients with the utmost in service and advising them with a throughout Studio City keen, street-level market knowledge. She is truly deserving of recognition for her contributions to the San Fernando Valley commercial real estate market that “Top 10 Producer” span over 25 years.” - Chris Runyen, Senior Managing Director Company-wide “Most Commercial Transactions” Company-wide Los Angeles North Office 12925 Riverside Drive, Suite 201 Sherman Oaks, CA 91423 (818) 455-8200 www.charlesdunn.com Lic.#01201641 13 20_sfvbj_req_main.qxp 4/16/2015 10:43 AM Page 16 16 SAN FERNANDO VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL APRIL 20, 2015 SPECIAL REPORT REAL ESTATE QUARTERLY PHOTO BY RINGO H.W. CHIU PHOTO BY THOMAS WASPER Large and Small: Developer Arturo Sneider at his Plaza Pacoima at 13520 W. Paxton St., left. Pedestrian walks by Agora Realty’s Zocalito center, also in Pacoima. Primestor Development Inc., also has had “For 10 years, I could not get a single to see this in their neighborhood,” he said. Continued from page 14 considerable success over the past decade, brand tenant to even return my phone calls,” In 2010, he opened Plaza Pacoima, a establishing 80 centers since 1992. Sneider said. “I told them I didn’t realize you 343,000-square-foot power center featuring a community heroes. But his first shopping center development had to be a college graduate to buy shoes.” Lowe’s, Costco and Best Buy in the northeast An old movie theater has been trans- plans in the 1990s were kicked back by local In desperation, Sneider began packaging Valley community. formed into a banquet hall that seats 300 for officials. They wanted to know why he had- marketing data himself and speaking at busi- Despite the two developers’ successful wedding receptions and quinceañeras – a n’t included perimeter security fencing. ness events across the country. When he track records, getting conventional funding Latin American debutante celebration for 15- Mystified by the request, Sneider – a native couldn’t get mainstream lender financing, he for projects in largely Latino, lower-income year-old girls. One building has been removed of Mexico City who came to the U.S. to turned to the Asian banks that served the areas is still tough. Agora put up $7 million of to allow street views into the center that hosts attend college – toured nearby Latino retail Korean entrepreneurs who owned mom-and- its own capital to remodel an eyesore at San music, children’s activities and community centers.