DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — With fierce competition in the retail sector and a stubborn economy marked by high unemployment, stagnant wages and a tight business lending environment, times are tough for businesses in Downtown.  In spite of those challenges, some entrepreneurs have made the choice to start up and make a go of it, targeting the needs of the area’s growing population. They’ve had an open market, since large retailers have yet to make a move on the central city.

Recent years have seen the arrival of a DVD rental shop, numerous bars and restaurants, two bookstores and an explosion of galleries.  Still, many Downtown are left wondering when the second phase of the revitalization will come.Some of those businesses have opened because of a need the owners felt through their own experience as Downtown residents. “Jim had wanted to open up something — anything —  on Main Street for a long time,” remembers Celia Esguerra, who along with husband Jim Winstead and partner James Adams own art supply store Raw Materials in the Historic Core. Now nearing its two-year anniversary, the business has grown and added services to appeal to a larger audience, offering photo printing, custom framing and art classes for all skill levels.  Each new residential building that opens adds to their client base.  “Our growth has mirrored the growth of the neighborhood,” Esguerra says.

Others came because they saw their customer base here.  Last November, Interior Illusions owner Mike Valles opened iSquared on Spring Street, offering furnishings catering to the modern loft aesthetic. He chose the location to meet the demand of clients who were traveling from Downtown to visit his West Hollywood and Santa Monica showrooms. Based on increased foot traffic over the summer, he considers the venture a success.

Even with these pioneers, what Downtown lacks is a retail core that offers the selection other city centers have, especially in the mid-range market segments, often anchored by a major retailer.

A survey conducted in 2008 by the Downtown Center Business Improvement District, a provider of marketing and safety services in a 65-block area covering the Financial and Jewelry districts, identified electronics retailers and discount department stores as the most sought-after types of businesses among residents and workers.  Coming as no surprise, retailers Best Buy and Target were the top two brands mentioned by name, and grocer Trader Joe’s is frequently mentioned in social settings and online forums.

Target in particular has long been rumored to be close to making a move on Downtown, but the retailer continues to hold out.

Once it does sign, that move could be the catalyst needed to really boost Downtown retail. Derrick Moore with CB Richard Ellis believes that the arrival of a major retailer could create an effect similar to the renaissance of Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade in the early ‘90s, boosting foot traffic to nearby stores and acting as a magnet for more businesses to feel comfortable making a move on Downtown.

WRITTEN BY RICH ALOSSI AND DAVID MARKLAND 9/15/2010

By Eric Richardson

Published: Monday, August 16, 2010, at 07:51PM

Spring Street Park Lehrer Architects LA / Bureau of Engineering

The design of the Spring Street Park is centered around an oval lawn and a rectangular plaza built of permeable paving.

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — A little over 18 months after the surprise announcement that a parking lot on Spring street would become a new park for the Historic Core, the final design is set.

Don’t expect to be tossing around a frisbee this year, though. Those involved in the park’s development hope to see it ready for the summer of 2012.

An oval-shaped lawn and a rectangular plaza are the central characteristics of the design for the space, as of now simply being called the Spring Street Park. Plans for the park were first announced in January of 2009, when the city revealed that it had negotiated a deal with Downtown Properties to purchase the parcel that sits between the Rowan Lofts and the El Dorado Lofts. The original $5.6 million purchase price was eventually whittled down to $5.1 million.

Early plans by Lehrer Architects LA featured more decorative elements, continuing a series of geometric paving features through the lawn.

That didn’t sit well with some nearby residents. “The whole point of the park should be to escape from the urban and not have to walk into a space that’s totally programmed,” explained Bert Green, who attended each of the community meetings on the park.

Through those meetings the design was simplified with an emphasis on green space.

“They listened to what we were saying,” said Patti Berman, chair of the Downtown L.A. Neighborhood Council’s Parks, Recreation and Open Space committee. Now the city’s Bureau of Engineering has begun work on construction drawings, a process that should take four to six months. The construction timeline will depend partially on what the city finds when it starts to dig into the foundations of the torn-down buildings that once stood on the site between 4th and 5th streets.

Still to be resolved is who will operate the park once it does open. Talks have included the creation of a non-profit similar to the one that operates Grand Hope Park, which was built by the city but is operated privately.