LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 4.0

[goom]

Originally Posted by pesto

I guess everybody wants some version of this. But the difference is that the Union Sq. area is the established high-end shopping area for the SF area (including Oakland and San Mateo); only when you get to Palo Alto and Santana Row/Valley Fair do you get any real rivals.

In LA, upscale shopping is centered on the Westside (BH, SM, Century City, Beverly Center) and some suburbs. Downtown LA is right at the bottom of LA in per capita income, so there is no obvious need for putting in new upscale shopping, especially in light of the internet shopping boom.

Tourism, on the other hand, makes a lot of sense. There is a growing number of reasons to visit DT or to live there. But this is not a Neiman crowd. A better hope is a revitalized Macy's and smaller trendy boutiques.

btw, I was in Istanbul a couple of times recently and you see the same pattern there. Taksim is filled with upscale shopping and restaurants. Sultanahmet, several miles away, gets the masses of tourists and is full of small and medium-sized hotels, small restaurants and cafes. A small trendy boutique shopping area is opening on the fringes.

I agree with you about the upscale shopping, but I still believe that Broadway certainly could use better shopping. Nothing too fancy like Neiman Marcus, but something appealing to locals and tourists, like Apple Stores and various middle-class clothing stores. Maybe even urban best buys and targets.