Nationally, strip-mall vacancies are at 7.4 percent, the highest percentage in five and a half years. Store closings in malls are attributed to the home-loan credit crunch and other economic factors, all of which has retailers concerned about the holiday shopping season. But while Midwestern and other malls across the nation suffer, those in coastal cities and in the San Fernando Valley are pretty much unaffected, analysts say. In inland Sacramento, strip mall vacancies are 6.3 percent, up 1.8 percent from a year ago. Strip-mall space has also come open at surprising rates in De Moines, Trenton, N.J., Dallas and, the biggest surprise, Oakland, Calif., according to Torto Wheaton Research, a Boston independent research firm. Yet according to Valley mall experts, Valley vacancies have never been lower, still in the low single digits. “We haven’t felt it yet,” said Todd Nathanson of Encino-based Centers Business Management, which specializes in leasing, selling and managing retail shopping and strip malls. The downturn in the economy has had no impact on Valley malls. “Rates remain at an all-time high,” Nathanson said. Because malls mix services (like hair-cutting salons and food stores) with “impulse-buying” retailers, Nathanson said, malls are able to weather dips in the retail sector. Nick Virzi, of Triad Management Systems Inc. in Sherman Oaks, said Valley malls haven’t been affected in part because of the stalwart efforts of small business owners who populate malls. These owners know how to keep a business profitable, Virzi said. But there are cracks in the edifice. Virzi said a Valley downturn in mall vacancies may be coming. “Even though the (residential) real-estate market has changed, (economic problems) aren’t so visible to influence buyer psychology,” Virzi said. “But with oil prices up, you’ve got to think that gasoline prices will move up again and that might have a psychological affect (on buying).” Another sign of impending problems is that mall subletting is up, Nathanson said. Subletting occurs when businesses close but can’t break their lease. Nathanson ends his assessment cryptically. “We haven’t seen a problem,” he said, “but it’s looming.” Zodax Buys Valencia Building Zodax, a leader in the design and distribution of home decorative accessories based in Panorama City, has acquired a 71,000 square foot manufacturing and warehouse facility in Valencia, Delphi Business Properties announced in a news release. The nearly $9 million facility is located at 29003 N. Avenue Sherman in the Valencia Commerce Center. Zodax acquired the property to consolidate activities formerly conducted in San Fernando and Panorama City. David Hoffberg, senior vice president of Delphi in Van Nuys, said Zodax is scheduled to move in this month. In a news release, Zodax President Phillip Cohanim said of the purchase, “We were in need of expansion space that enabled us to bring together activities from two facilitators under a single roof. It was difficult finding such a facility in the San Fernando Valley that was suitable, so we had to move farther out.” Twenty-five employees will work at the site. Retail Center Upcoming Bank of the West’s Real Estate Industries Division and Spirit Properties recently announced completion of a $28.5 million two-year construction loan for a nine-building, 157,000 square foot retail center on a 23.6 acre site in Santa Clarita in the Centre Point Business Court. “The Santa Clarita Valley market overall remains an attractive business location for a broad range of companies,” Joseph Hopper, relationship manager in Bank of the West’s real estate division, said in a news release. “That’s due to the area’s expanding residential population, the related growth of the labor pool and its relatively affordable homes compared to more established areas of Los Angeles County.” The new center is pre-leased to tenants such as Babies R Us, Chick’s Sporting Goods, EZ-Life Furniture and Jamba Juice. Real Estate Firm Lists Center Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services has retained exclusive listing for Flair Plaza Shopping Center, a new 24,269 square foot complex in El Monte. Chris Sands, a senior associate in the Encino office, is representing the seller, Sonnenblick-Del Rio El Monte. “This property represents an excellent opportunity for an investor to acquire a newly constructed shopping center with high-quality national credit tenants,” Sands said. Located at 9150 Flair Drive, Flair Plaza Shopping Center consists of 11 tenants in seven buildings within a 154,683 square foot lot along Interstate 10. The shopping center attracts a lot of foot traffic due to the more than 2,000 employees within a one-block radius, the news release said.
