Going Off Beaten Path Has Advantages

Sometimes an offbeat location can be the secret ingredient for business success.

“Despite the shortcomings of our facility--it’s old, small, run-down and crowded--people are delighted we are here,” said Paul Novograd, owner of Claremont Riding Academy, which is next to a vacant lot in a less-than-tony Manhattan neighborhood.

Beginning at 6 a.m, urban horse lovers arrive by bus, subway, car and taxi, or on foot, to visit their horses, take riding lessons or explore six miles of bridle paths in nearby Central Park. The 99-year-old brick carriage house is home to about 100 horses that are trained to be calm on bustling city streets.

Claremont, on the list of National Historic Sites, is about to undergo a $3-million renovation scheduled to be completed in time for its 100th birthday next year, Novograd said.

“Claremont is so accessible, people come here despite the physical limitations,” said Novograd, whose family has owned the stable for 60 years.

In fact, the popularity of the Upper West Side stable has prompted Novograd and a group of private investors to plan another urban riding center adjacent to Boston’s Franklin Park.

“When you are accessible by subway and the only riding stable in town, you have a de facto monopoly,” said Novograd, who also owns the rural Overpeck Riding Center in Leonia, N.J.

Creative entrepreneurs around the country are finding that putting your business in an unexpected location and encouraging customers to seek you out is not such a bad thing. Many downtown businesses are flourishing in areas that once were used only for warehouse space. There are restaurants tucked into warehouses in Houston and architects busy in lofts in downtown Los Angeles.

“When you choose an unusual location for your business, it adds some character and makes a statement that you are not the average firm,” said Michael Geller, executive vice president of First Property Realty Corp. in Westwood.

Geller said many advertising agencies and restaurants seek more affordable, offbeat locations, drawing customers to neighborhoods that they might not usually frequent. Other kinds of client-driven businesses seek unusual locations to save money and set themselves apart.

“When the clients arrive here, they are awe-struck,” said Patricia Ridgway, founder of Ridgway Associates, a space planning and design firm in downtown Los Angeles. “They are so used to corporate, high-rise space, that they come into this Soho-type district and say, ‘Wow, this is really creative; this is really great!’ ”

Ridgway and her 25 employees work in what was once a contemporary art museum above a busy restaurant at 414 Boyd St., east of Little Tokyo. In recent years, the area has become a haven for architects, designers and artists seeking unique studio space.

Sullivan Bluth Studios, a Ridgway client, searched for two months to find a distinctive building to consolidate its headquarters operations, art gallery and animation and production studios.

“We looked at some antiseptic, New Age buildings, but when we saw this older brick building, we just knew this was it,” said Tom Jacobsmeyer, president and general manager of the animation division. By summer, Sullivan Bluth hopes to be in a soon-to-be-renovated 47,000-square-foot building on the edge of the Burbank entertainment district.

“Being in a building like this gives us a different image and builds morale too,” he said.

Karim Jaude, president and owner of KAJ Financial Corp., a Los Angeles real estate investment firm, said he was surprised when a coin dealer insisted on leasing space in an office building rather than a retail shopping center.

“I offered him a retail place, but he said he’d rather be in an office building,” said Jaude, who drew up the lease. “The office space on the third floor was more expensive--$1.80 a square foot, compared with $1.50 for the retail space.”

The coin dealer preferred the office building because he sells to collectors seeking his coins and was not interested in drawing people off the street.

MAKING THE MOST OF AN OFFBEAT LOCATION Seek neighborhoods on the brink of redevelopment.

Talk to other business owners in the area to find out what they like and don’t like about the neighborhood.

Find an adventurous real estate agent who is willing to explore new areas with you.

Ask architects and designers if they know of space for lease in unusual locations.

If you find a suitable building in a slightly scary neighborhood, make sure you have enough parking spaces and a safe entry, and provide security, if necessary.

When you move in, throw a big party to let your customers and clients know you’ve moved, and include a map in the invitation.