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LOS ANGELES-In a survey of Downtown residents and its business community that was released Feb. 20 by the Downtown Center Business Improvement District (DCBID), business establishments, total employment, taxable retail sales, office rents and new housing units are all on the rise. These escalations have been spurred, DCBID experts say, by Downtown's burgeoning population.

"This is phenomenally good news for Downtown Los Angeles and, therefore, for the region," Carol E. Schatz, president and CEO of the DCBID, tells GlobeSt.com. "Downtown is growing at a phenomenal pace."

Since 2004, Downtown L.A. has gained nearly 5,000 new residents, according to the study, which attributes this 20% growth in population to a desire to live in a thriving urban setting, the wide range of cultural activities available in Downtown and the geographic advantage that comes with living close to where one works and plays. The area's residential base of more than 28,000 – 30.2% of which were owners in 2006, compared to 18.6% in 2004 – combined with its workforce, gives Downtown a very high purchasing power and has resulted in taxable retail sales totaling nearly $1.7 billion in the 2005 to 2006 fiscal year, up 7% from the previous year.