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