Cleanup, Safety Services Stay in Fashion District

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Trash and crime don’t wear well with downtown L.A.’s fashion businesses. Last week, the L.A. Fashion District Business Improvement District, which provides cleanup and safety services to more than 100 square blocks downtown, was approved for a fifth term.

The Los Angeles City Council renewed the 17-year-old BID for another five years after a 45-day voting period showed support from property owners representing 83 percent of the service area.

Kent Smith, executive director of the BID, said he was pleased to get robust support from property owners. Last time the BID was up for renewal in 2008, support for its services wasn’t nearly as high.

“We are excited to be able to continue offering our clean and safe services to the community and look forward to the continuing revitalization of the L.A. Fashion District community,” he said.

The BID, established in 1996, is the oldest property-based business improvement district in Southern California. Since its inception, it has grown from servicing 300 property owners to 1,000. Economic activity has also ballooned, thanks in part to marketing and advocacy efforts in the district.

Every five years, when the BID’s service contract sunsets, BID leaders must collect signatures from landlords representing more than 50 percent of the district, hold a public hearing, then garner approval over the course of a 45-day mail-in voting period.

The annual budget for the BID is more than $3 million. It had assessments revenue of $3.2 million last year and $3.3 million in 2011. Assessment revenue is generated by fees, determined by type, size and location of each property, paid by property owners.

The BID collected five tons of trash daily, removed 7,300 graffiti tags, cleaned 14 million square feet of sidewalk, and conducted 51,300 location checks for safety during the night last year, according to the BID.

Smith said that in the next five years, the BID has committed to spending more than $18 million it will receive from assessed fees collected from area property owners to keep the district clean, safe and an engine for economic growth.

Revolving Door

Umami Restaurant Group was scheduled to open one of its Umami Burger restaurants at 4300 W. Riverside Drive in Burbank on Monday. In a nod to the restaurant that formerly occupied the space – Papoo’s Hot Dog Show – the menu there will include seven hot dogs in addition to burgers. Umami also has plans in the works to open another restaurant at 738 E. 3rd St. in downtown L.A.’s Arts District later this summer.

… Upscale bar and grill chain Del Frisco’s Grille of Southlake, Texas, opened a restaurant at 1551 Ocean Ave. in Santa Monica earlier this month. … Chef CJ Jacobson opened California-inspired restaurant Girasol earlier this month in Studio City. Girasol, Spanish for sunflower, is only open for dinner, but will begin serving weekend brunch later this year. … Irvine blow-out chain Drybar Holdings LLC was scheduled to open an 11-chair salon at 16624 Ventura Blvd. in Encino last week. … San Francisco fashion company Margaret O’Leary Inc. opened a 900-square-foot boutique at 1410 Abbot Kinney Blvd. in Venice earlier this month. Australian apothecary Aesop is also expected to open a shop on the street this summer. … Italian luxury home goods and accessories store Bottega Veneta opened shop at 8445 Melrose Place last week. … Commerce retailer Smart & Final Inc. opened its first small-scale urban concept store earlier this month at 845 S. Figueroa St. in downtown Los Angeles. The 25,000-square-foot store includes a café by L.A. coffee retailer Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, a first for the 186-store grocery chain. … Seal Beach restaurateur Cary Hardwick will open a second Spaghettini Fine Dining and Entertainment location of the 25-year-old eatery early next year at 184 N. Canon Drive in Beverly Hills. … Santa Ana juice-cleanse chain Nekter Juice Bar opened a store at 10921 Lindbrook St. in Westwood earlier this month. … Pharmacy chain CVS Caremark Corp. of Woonsocket, R.I., will anchor the 50,000-square-foot Storm Plaza retail center in Torrance, where construction began earlier this month. The retail development at Sepulveda Boulevard and Normandie Avenue is expected to be completed next year.


At Your Service

L.A. apparel company Guess Inc. has named Sandeep Reddy chief financial officer. He was promoted to the executive team after having led the company’s European finance team from 2010. Before Guess, Reddy held senior financial roles at El Segundo toy company Mattel Inc. He replaces Dennis Secor, who left the company late last year. Nigel Kershaw, who stepped in as interim chief financial officer, will leave the clothing company at the end of the month. … Santa Monica’s Shore Hotel has named Lori Harrison director of sales and marketing, and Kristin Haugan sales manager. Both women formerly worked down the street at Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows. … L.A. clothing company Carol Anderson by Invitation LLC, which sells its fashions directly to customers through the kinds of parties Tupperware made popular, named Lynne Cote chief executive. Cote joined the apparel company from New York-based Tribal Sportswear Inc., where she served as chief executive since 2009.

Staff reporter Bethany Firnhaber can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 549-5225, ext. 235.

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