Express fashion limited

CIM Group, landlord at 1337 Third St. on Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, has signed women's fashion supplier Express to a lease for $9 per foot.

Real estate sources said the deal was a good one for CIM considering the sluggish summer leasing activity. Retailers and other businesses have been reluctant to sign leases in the midst of an uncertain economic situation.

Express, which is a division of The Limited Inc. of Columbus, Ohio, takes over the 7,100 square feet vacated last summer by Walt Disney Co., which has been downsizing its retail operations.

The deal is a good sign for property owners on the Promenade, but it could become a flash point in the debate over chain stores moving into the area.

Many restaurants already have been forced off of the shopping street in the past three years because their thin profit margins don't jibe with the escalating rents. Some city officials fear that mom-and-pop retailers will be forced out next, ruining the character of Third Street.

"It's still a relatively low-key issue, but it's building," said Rob York, a principal at Fransen Co., a retail development consultant to downtown Santa Monica and the Bayside District. "There has been concern expressed about the number of chain stores that have come into the area."

COPYRIGHT 2001 CBJ, L.P.
COPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group