Ventura Boulevard's Vacancy Rate Rises to 14%

Like robins ushering in spring, the addition of new stores on Ventura Boulevard over the past several months appears to indicate economic progress.

But positive signs like the bustling lunch rush witnessed this week  at the six-month-old Sweet Butter Kitchen, Cafe & Marketplace are balanced by the sight of graffiti strewn across the windows of the now-defunct Border’s Bookstore.

The retail strip appears to be experiencing the same see-saw evinced by national reports on consumer confidence  from the Conference Board.

“Consumer confidence, which had declined sharply in March, posted a modest gain in April,” said Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center: “Consumers’ short-term outlook improved slightly, suggesting that the uncertainty expressed last month is easing.”

The vacancy level on Ventura Boulevard, which dropped as low as 3 percent at the peak in 2007, has risen to 14 percent, according to Stan Gerson, a vice president at Beitler Commercial Real Estate Services in Sherman Oaks.

The recent closure of the 21,000-square-foot Border’s Bookstore and the 15 percent vacancy level at the 500,000-square-foot Sherman Oaks Galleria are skewing the numbers skyward, however, Gerson said.His data showed that if Borders and the Galleria are subtracted from the picture, the vacancy level would be 7 percent.

Combined, Borders and the Galleria represent roughly 33,000 square feet of the 77,000 square feet of vacant space on the stretch of Ventura Boulevard from Coldwater Canyon Street to Sepulveda Boulevard, he said.

While Borders and the Galleria may be driving the vacancy numbers up, that empty space also represents competition to owners with vacant stores along Ventura Boulevard.

The majority of the stores on Ventura Boulevard experiencing vacancies are categorized as Class C space, or older buildings with fewer amenities and improvements, said Cody Chiarella, an associate in the Universal City office of CB Richard Ellis.

 The retail tenants who prospered or survived the downturn have been capitalizing on lower rents in better locations to relocate.