Second in a series
Re “‘More Mature Retail Environment Needed,’ Marks Says”
[img]2801|right|Wally Marks||no_popup[/img]He has witnessed this scenario before – at the Third Street Promenade.
“We definitely are bringing a lot of people to Culver City, and retailers follow where the people are,” he said.
Realtor Wally Marks predicts that change is on the way for restaurant-heavy Downtown. Not tomorrow, but it is coming.
“It would not surprise me in the next 10 years,” said the owner of one of the Westside’s keenest eyes for real estate, “if some of the restaurants get priced out sadly. The good ones, those that work smart, will continue to thrive.
“It would not surprise me if more retail comes in, retail to serve the needs not just of the office workers that are here but the residents – including the residents who are not even here yet because of the new projects that are being built.”
No question that Downtown – previously a stand-in for mortuaries and for communities where fun is illegal – has enjoyed a glittering birth, not rebirth because it wasn’t much, historically.
Mr. Marks senses that such a perception is on the ledge of massively changing – like transforming from moonlight to brilliant sunlight.
Why has retail been slow or reluctant to be a player Downtown?
Two answers.
“Chain stores, such as the Gap, didn’t see Culver City thriving yet as an area,” he said. “Or they had radius clauses that said ‘I already am in Century City, and Culver City is too close,’ and they were blocked out because of that. Or they were in a mall, such as the Westfield Mall down in that part of Culver City that would exclude them from having a store in Downtown.”
(To be continued)
