California + Los Angeles + Retail | January 29, 2019

Co-Working Breathes Life into SoCal’s Obsolete Retail Space

Retailers across America are considering ways to repurpose vacant space. A study by JLL shows that 75,000 square feet of prime retail was leased out to co-working companies throughout Los Angeles in 2018. Expansion is occurring across Glendale, Santa Monica, and Central Los Angeles.

CTRL Collective, which occupies a former Bally’s Fitness in Pasadena (pictured), will also be expanding into Manhattan Beach in 2019.

Corporate brands are choosing to occupy some of these co-working spaces, including Legal Zoom, Vans, and Beachbody. Five of these six spaces are housed in ground-floor street-front retail. The lowest price point for membership access at these spaces ranges from $275 to $349 a month.

Work Well Win, an Austin, TX concept, will be occupying the 30,000-square-foot Third Street Promenade lease recently vacated by Barnes and Noble. Their focus is wellness-oriented, with a stated aim of targeting “mature healthy professionals.”

Major regional mall operators, such as Macerich, have announced that they will soon be converting obsolete mall stores into shared working space as well. Given the strong demand for co-working space in the Los Angeles region, JLL predicts additional operators will move into the retail category.

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About Dennis Kaiser

Dennis Kaiser is Vice President of Content and Public Relations for Connect Commercial Real Estate. Dennis is a communications leader with more than 30 years of experience including as a journalist and in corporate and agency marketing communications roles. He is responsible for Connect’s client content operations and is involved in a range of initiatives ranging from content strategy, message development, copywriting, media relations, social media and content marketing services. In his most recent corporate communications roles, he led a regional public relations effort across Southern California for CBRE, played a key marketing role on JLL’s national retail team, and was responsible for directing the global public relations effort at ValleyCrest, the nation’s largest commercial landscape services company. In addition to his vast commercial real estate experience, Dennis has worked on communications and launch strategies for a number of residential projects such as Disney’s Celebration in Florida, Ritter Ranch in Palmdale California (7,200 homes, 22,000 acres), WaterColor in Florida and PremierGarage in Phoenix. Dennis’s agency background included firms such as Idea Hall and Macy + Associates. He has earned an outstanding reputation with organization leaders as a trusted advisor, strategic program implementer, consensus builder and exceptional collaborator. Dennis has developed and managed national communications programs for Fortune 500 companies to start-ups, both public and private. He’s successfully worked with journalists across the globe representing clients involved in major-breaking news stories, product launches, media tours, and company news announcements. Dennis has been involved in a host of charitable and community organizations including the American Cancer Society, Easter Seals, BoyScouts, Chrysalis Foundation, Freedom For Life, HOLA, L.A.’s BEST, Reach Out and Read, Super Bowl Host Committee, and Thunderbirds Charities.