Monday, February 24, 2014

Charles Dunn Company Selected to Market Retail Space for Lease at Historic Dunbar Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles, CA


Dunba Hotel, 4219--4225 South Central Avenue, Downtown Los Angeles, CA

Mark Takeichi

 LOS ANGELES, CA, Feb.  24, 2014 – Tracy Taft and Mark Takeichi of Charles Dunn Company have been tapped to lease 2,400 square feet of retail space at the historic Dunbar Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles on behalf of the property ownership, Dunbar Village L.P.

The property is located at 4219-4225 S. Central Avenue at the northwest corner of Central and E. 42nd Place.

Situated in the heart of what is known as the Central Avenue Corridor which includes other cultural landmarks such as the Historic 28th Street YMCA, The Dunbar Hotel is in the heart of an area currently undergoing a significant amount of revitalization.

In 2011, Dunbar Village L.P., a partnership that includes Thomas Safran & Associates, the nonprofit Coalition for Responsible Community Development, and the city's Housing Authority and Community Redevelopment Agency, was formed and purchased the property for a major renovation.

Tracy Taft
The project included transforming the three existing buildings which included the Dunbar Hotel, Somerville I and Somerville II, into one cohesive, activated, mixed-use, intergenerational community called Dunbar Village.

Preserving Dunbar Hotel’s historic brick facade, grand entry and lobby, the new design provides 41 residential units of affordable housing for seniors with amenities that include a community room, communal kitchen, media lounge, billiard table, library area and fitness room.

“A winning combination of targeted public and private investments, that include millions of dollars in infrastructure upgrades, $500,000 for facade improvements, and a new $24 million retail development opening this spring, have launched a real transformation of Central Avenue,” said Councilman Curren Price.

“This historic commercial corridor is on the rise and would be a fantastic investment for any business owner.”

“With the rehab completed over last summer, Dunbar Village residences now fully occupied. That combined with the overall growth of the Central Avenue Corridor, this retail space is an idea opportunity for a tenant to become part of a new chapter in this historic and beloved landmark property,” states Taft.

Curren D. Price Jr. 
Takeichi added that for the right tenant, the landlord is willing to provide a favorable tenant improvement package.

“Ideally we believe a restaurant category tenant would work the best in the space. 

"A jazz lounge, chef-driven dining, sit down restaurant or café, or destination restaurant, with a New Orleans, Cajun, or Southern menu and feel would make a great fit, however, we are open to other concepts that will serve local residents and visitors. 

Originally built in 1928, designated as a city Historic-Cultural Landmark in 1974, and placed on the National Register of Historic Places two years later, the Dunbar Hotel was the focal point of the Central Avenue African-American community in Los Angeles during the 1930s and 1940s.

It was originally known as the Hotel Somerville and renamed later as the Dunbar Hotel. 

In the early 1930s, a nightclub opened at the Dunbar, and it became the center of the Central Avenue jazz scene in the 1930s and 1940s.

Lena Horne
The Dunbar hosted Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, Lionel Hampton, Count Basie, Lena Horne, and many other jazz legends. 

Other noteworthy people who stayed at the Dunbar include W. E. B. Du Bois, Joe Louis, Ray Charles, and Thurgood Marshall.

Dunbar Village is also the focal point for the Central Avenue Jazz Festival that is held every year in the last weekend of July. The festival has more than 10,000 attendees.

For a complete copy of the company’s news release, please contact:

Darcie Giacchetto
D.G. Communications, Inc.
949.278.6224


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