SoCal Retail Briefs

For the past week, the Blog-LA-Sphere has been buzzing about the arrival of H&M, the Swedish "cheap chic" retail powerhouse. Last Thursday the international chain's first Southern California store, with merchandise exclusively for women, opened on Colorado Boulevard in Old Town Pasadena. Shoppers queued outside throughout the weekend.

A second H&M will open in the Beverly Center next month; the much larger store will also feature clothing and accessories for men and children. Additional confirmed locations include Westfield Santa Anita, Hollywood Boulevard, South Coast Plaza, and Irvine Spectrum. Rumored future locations include Santa Monica's Third Street Promenade, Westfield Century City, Westfield Topanga, and the Sunset Millenium in West Hollywood.

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Tesco, the largest grocery chain in Great Britain, has begun to secure real estate in greater Los Angeles as it launches its aggressive expansion into the United States. However, one of the first sites, a 32,000-square-foot former Albertsons unit in Glassell Park, had analyists scratching their heads.

While the supermarket giant has been secretive about its plans, conventional wisdom held that Tesco was looking for buildings of about 14,000 square feet. Analyists now believe that the retailer may test out several different formats, a prediction buttressed by Tesco's decision to open in a working-class neighborhood that recently lost two full-line supermarkets.

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On September 16, Wal-Mart opened a Supercenter in Rosemead, a San Gabriel Valley suburb. The new store is only the third Supercenter to open in Los Angeles County and is the closest one yet to the urban core. Wal-Mart has found it increasingly difficult to open mammoth Supercenters in Southern California as cities have tightened their zoning regulations to keep the world's largest retailer out.

Only a few days later, a recall election failed to oust Jay Imperial and Gary Taylor, two veteran Rosemead Councilmen who had approved Wal-Mart's plans. The retail giant spent a reported $300,000 in the election to support Imperial and Taylor. The recent sequence of store opening and bitterly fought recall election speaks volumes about the growing political maelstrom surrounding big-box retail in Southern California and throughout the United States.

Catching Up

After several busy weeks, I'd like to return to P.U. and share some recent events with my loyal readers.

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First and foremost, Chizi and I have completed our move to a spacious two bedroom apartment in Studio City. Despite my reservations about living in the suburban San Fernando Valley, I am quite pleased with my new living arrangements. I am still within walking distance of the Red Line (allowing an easy commute to the Civic Center) as well as numerous shops and services, including an enormous Ralphs. While it would be a stretch to call our new neighborhood "transit-oriented," it's certainly more urban than a cul-de-sac in Porter Ranch.

It was tough leaving East Hollywood after three and a half years, and that neighborhood will always have a special place in my heart. I lived in my former apartment longer than anywhere else I've lived in Los Angeles, and it was host to many good (and bad) memories; suffice it to say I am optimistic about this next phase in my life, ready to pursue new opportunities and meet new challenges.

I documented the move with photographs -- please check out my Transition photoset on Flickr.

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Over the last 15 months, I've learned that blogging can fetch positive feedback, even in the "real world." My post on the University Gateway project from earlier this year caught the attention of Michael Woo, a former Councilperson and Mayoral candidate who is currently teaching urban planning classes at USC. Mr. Woo invited me to be the first guest speaker at his introductory course on "Urban Planning and Development" (PPD 227) and I gladly accepted.

While I am a proud Trojan, I decided to focus my talk on the poor relationship that USC has had with the surrounding community, both in the physical sense (its insular campus) and in the philosophical sense (its land use policy). My main thesis was that USC had become a "University over the City" after a redevelopment plan was approved in 1966, leading to the displacement of hundreds of homes and businesses for university expansion. Mr. Woo compared my narrative to Mike Davis's "City of Quartz," which I took as a complement.

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Since I lack anonymity, there's not much I can write about my job except that it continues to be challenging. I recently had my first experience hosting a community meeting with an emotional and skeptical audience. If you want to find out how it went, read this and this.

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A few weeks ago, Chizi and I enjoyed a weekend trip to beautiful San Diego without ever getting in an automobile. Not only did we take Amtrak down from Los Angeles Union Station (via the Red Line), but we traveled through San Diego exclusively on light-rail. We both enjoyed the trip.

While in San Diego, we conducted a tour of five of its major shopping malls: Parkway Plaza, Grossmont Center, Mission Valley Center, Fashion Valley, and Horton Plaza. Of course, I had my camera to document our journey. Please enjoy these Flickr photosets:

Parkway Plaza

Grossmont Center

Mission Valley Center

Fashion Valley

Horton Plaza