By Yair Haimoff, Executive Managing Director, Spectrum Commercial Real Estate The COVID-19 pandemic slowed or halted markets across the world. But how did Los Angeles fare? Well, the retail market slowed in 2020 as a result of the pandemic, but, fortunately, it is slowly picking up with reopenings and the adoption of the COVID-19 vaccine. Looking back, recent transactions in the retail space have predominantly included food-related deals. With established fast food businesses like In-n-Out, Starbucks, Popeye’s Chicken, Chick-Fil-A and more showing more transactions, there is definitely a pattern of increased demand for services that support activities necessitated by isolation. However, there have also been deals that included gyms/fitness users, family entertainment, tutoring centers and a few other ancillary retail uses. It looks as if the reopenings are starting to bring in a renewed demand for more social activities, which, blended with the rise of fast food establishments, is a good sign the market is picking up. Looking at current retail development activities, the local market has been mostly quiet in terms of retail-only centers. This makes sense, as retail stores suffered during the shutdown, with many existing retailers turning to curbside pick-up services to stay afloat. Many developers simply aren’t …
