Tussle in garment district: Kennedy and Trammel Crow clans vie for L.A. supremacy.THEY are sometimes referred to as the Hatfields and McCoys Hatfields and McCoys Two families of the U.S. Appalachian Mountains who engaged in a backwoods feud in the late 19th century. The families, each with at least 13 children and numerous other relatives, lived on opposite sides of a border stream, the Hatfields in West Virginia . But what's going on What's Going On is a record by American soul singer Marvin Gaye. Released on May 21, 1971 (see 1971 in music), What's Going On reflected the beginning of a new trend in soul music. these days in down-town's garment district The Garment District is a store in Cambridge, MA and is well known for its Dollar-A-Pound clothing store. The Garment District started out as an offshoot of Harbor Textiles, a textile company which produced wiping cloths for industry that began in the late 1940s. more closely resembles a Kennedy-Johnson rumble. This time around, the patrician KENNEDY clan is duking it out with another set of Texans, the TRAMMEL CROW family, as they try to fill millions of square feet of L.A. real estate with furniture sellers, apparel marketers and giftware firms. The Kennedys, who control the L.A. Mart, and the Crows, who operate the California Market Center, each want to become the dominant player in the growing gift and accessories showroom market -- and they're sparing no expense to make that happen. "It's gotten rather nasty," observed Michael McGilvray, one showroom tenant who has been watching the fracas from both sides. The dustup commenced last August, when it was announced that Trammell Crow's Dallas Market Center, one of the country's largest showroom operators, and two other partners were taking over leasing of the 2 million square feet of showrooms in the three California Market Center buildings. The California Market Center, whose three buildings until recently housed primarily apparel and textile show-rooms, is in the midst Adv. 1. in the midst - the middle or central part or point; "in the midst of the forest"; "could he walk out in the midst of his piece?" midmost of an overhaul, both physical and competitive. All 13 floors of one building are being gutted and renovated into gift and furniture showrooms. The Kennedys' Merchandise Mart Properties Inc., based in of Chicago, also came to town in 2000, when it took over management of the 54-year-old L.A. Mart building, for years the home of the city's gift and accessories showrooms. The L.A. Mart, whose 720,000 square feet of space encompasses 275 showrooms, is located a few blocks from the California Market Center, which has more than 1,200 showrooms. Snatching tenants New management at the boxy box·y adj. box·i·er, box·i·est Resembling a box, especially in simplicity or rectangularity. box  i·ness n. L.A. Mart building, owned by MMPI's parent company, Vornado Realty Trust Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE: VNO) is a New York based real estate investment trust. It is the inheritor of real estate formerly controlled by companies including Two Guys and Alexander's. , was quick out of the gate. The Kennedys were confident they would make a nice profit off the lucrative gift and accessories market that peaks every January and July when retailers flood into L.A. for the behemoth behemoth (bē`hĭmŏth, bĭhē`–) [Heb.,=plural of beast], large, fanciful primeval monster, like Leviathan, evoking the hippopotamus mentioned in the Book of Job. California Gift Shows held at the Los Angeles Convention Center The Los Angeles Convention Center (abbreviated LACC) is a convention center in downtown Los Angeles. The LACC hosts annual events such as the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show, and was best known to video games fans as host to E3 until its cessation in 2006. . The contentment was short-lived. Shortly after its arrival last summer, the Dallas crew started calling L.A. Mart tenants about the possibility of moving to the California Market Center. The connections are not tenuous. Many of those with L.A. Mart showrooms also have showrooms at the Dallas Market Center and for years have done business with the Trammell Crow F. Trammell Crow (born June 11, 1914, in Dallas, Texas) is an American property developer who created several famous projects, including Dallas Market Center, Peachtree Center (Atlanta, Georgia), and San Francisco's Embarcadero Center. people. Crow Holdings, owner of the Dallas Market Center, is a diversified investment company Diversified investment company An investment vehicle such as a mutual fund that invests in an assortment of securities. that owns and directs the investments of the Trammell Crow family. "I was contacted in November about moving over from the L.A. Mart to the California Market Center," said McGilvray, president of Anne McGilvray & Co., whose showroom was in the Dallas Market Center for years until he built his own showroom in Dallas. As the management agent, Dallas Market Center has signed 40 tenants to the California Market Center, once known as the California Mart, in the last six months. Half have been yanked from the L.A. Mart; said Shari Mobley, a spokeswoman for the California Market Center. The top five floors of the Center's Building C have been renovated and are 90 percent leased. The rest will be renovated throughout the year. The Kennedy clan isn't ready to roll over, however. MMPI MMPI abbr. Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory MMPI Child psychiatry A personality assessment tool widely used in making psychologic evaluations, which is normally given at age 16 and older. Personality testing has launched a campaign to retain and attract tenants with lower lease rates. The reminders are seen in the elevators of the L.A. Mart, where large plastic signs showcase new tenants that have come to the building or who have signed up for new leases. "We will fight tooth and nail to win," said Christopher Kennedy, president of MMPI and the eighth of 11 children of slain Sen. Robert Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy. "When you combine our tremendous financial resources and the level of focus we can bring, it is going to be a tough battle for them to win." L.A. Mart renovations Despite Trammell Crow's earlier successes, the Kennedy side has gained some traction. The L.A. Mart, for years a sleeping giant Sleeping Giant may refer to: In geology:
pct, per centum, percent, percentage - a proportion in relation to a whole (which is usually the amount per hundred) . MMPI has spent $5 million to recarpet and repaint Re`paint´ v. t. 1. To paint anew or again; as, to repaint a house; to repaint the ground of a picture. s> Verb 1. the hallways, upgrade the elevators and tear down a showroom on the main floor to create a lobby area where buyers can relax. The air conditioning air conditioning, mechanical process for controlling the humidity, temperature, cleanliness, and circulation of air in buildings and rooms. Indoor air is conditioned and regulated to maintain the temperature-humidity ratio that is most comfortable and healthful. system also is being upgraded. It even expanded the one restaurant inside the building to compete with the assortment of eateries that operate at the California Market Center -- a city within a city that houses a drug-store, gift shop and banks. In the process it has been churning out press releases about everything from food services food services Hospital services A 24/7 department in a hospital that provides for the nutritional needs of inpatients–eg, those needing special diets, preparing meals and transporting them to the floor and, through the cafeteria, the hospital staff and that abound at the building to the Internet Cafe and buyers' lounge. But success or failure on each side may be determined in part by the personalities and management styles of the officials at both companies. True to stereotype, the Kennedy group is seen by some as standoffish stand·off·ish adj. Aloof or reserved. stand·off ish·ness n. , giving an East Coast flavor to their business dealings. The Dallas group knows how to win friends with their "aw shucks shuck n. 1. a. A husk, pod, or shell, as of a pea, hickory nut, or ear of corn. b. The shell of an oyster or clam. 2. Informal Something worthless. " drawl drawl v. drawled, drawl·ing, drawls v.intr. To speak with lengthened or drawn-out vowels. v.tr. and accommodating demeanor. "Chris is very dry, very WASPy and very impressed with the fact that he is a Kennedy," said one source who has dealt with both mart operators. "You can see his mind is made up, and you can't budge him." When Kennedy comes to town, he stays at the staid California Club. Bill Winsor, president and chief executive of Dallas Market Center, checks into the more pedestrian Omni Los Angeles Hotel. "The Dallas people handle things in a warmer, fuzzier way," said Dick Firestone, whose Firestone Associates spent 20 years at the L.A. Mart before leaping recently to the California Market Center. "I can imagine (Bill Winsor) being the Marlboro man," said Hal Kaltman, president of Hal Kaltman Textiles and chairman of the CalMart Tenants Board. Like Winsor, Paul Lentz, the new general manager at the California Market Center, is originally from Texas and speaks with a soft drawl. George Bant, president of Decor Collection Ltd., has dealt with both mart operators. As an L.A. Mart tenant, he met with Christopher Kennedy and the mart's board to suggest that they provide complimentary shuttle buses to retail buyers who wanted to stop off at both mart buildings during the big California Gift Shows. "Chris said I didn't know what I was talking about," said Bant, who has since moved over to the California Market Center. "There wasn't any dealing with him." Instant gratification Bant has had a different experience at his new California Market Center home. "When I moved into our showroom at the California Market Center in March, they put down the wrong carpeting," said the giftware representative. "At the L.A. Mart, it would have taken years to fix that. At the California Market Center, these people had it changed in 24 hours, bringing in people overnight to get it done." But L.A. Mart tenants praise Kennedy and his company for being more responsive to their needs than the previous management team. "It's much better than it used to be," said Lance Hanshaw, a partner in Fine Lines Co., which decided to renew its five-year lease at the L.A. Mart. "They've thrown an awful lot of money into the building." And they are concerned about keeping tenants. When McGilvray notified the L.A. Mart he would be moving to the California Market Center, he received a personalized note from Christopher Kennedy expressing his "extreme disappointment" that McGilvray's company, which also has a showroom at the Kennedy's Merchandise Mart in Chicago, was leaving. Dallas Market Center executives were diplomatic when it came to talking about their L.A. Mart competitors. "The simple answer is we felt the market was underserved," Winsor said by phone while fishing for speckled speck·led adj. 1. Dotted or covered with speckles, especially flecked with small spots of contrasting color. 2. Of a mixed character; motley. Adj. 1. trout along the Texas coast. "We've never felt it was an us or them situation. We are really more focused on what we are doing." The lines are drawn. Said Kennedy: "This battle will run a while." RELATED ARTICLE: Battle of the Marketplace The two showroom operators vie for the same customers only blocks from each other. California Market Center Address: 110 E. 9th St. Size: 2 million square feet of showrooms in three buildings Showrooms: 1,200 Year Built: 1964 Owner: Hertz Investment Group of Los Angeles Leasing Agents: Dallas Market Center, George Little Management and DMG (Disk iMaGe) The file format used in the Macintosh for distributing Mac software. Mac install packages appear as a virtual disk drive on the Mac as if you had inserted a CD or floppy disk. World Media Tenants: Apparel manufacturers, textile representatives, gift and home accessories representatives. L.A. Mart Address: 1933 S. Broadway Size: 720,000 square feet of showrooms in one building Showrooms: 275 Year Built: 1958 Owner: Vornado Realty Trust of New Jersey Leasing Agents: Merchandise Mart Properties Inc. Tenants: Gift, home accessories and furniture representatives |
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