Downtown boom spurs increased momentum at Brickell City Centre
Proving retailers are following booming development in Miami’s Brickell financial district, six more stores and eateries are slated to open this year in Brickell City Centre.
The additional tenants are coming to the shopping mall at 701 S. Miami Ave. The arrivals will follow luxury perfume and candlemaker Jo Malone, Italian clothing store Calzedonia and clicks-to-bricks jewelry vendor Blue Nile that opened in recent months.
The merchants and restaurants want to cash in on Brickell’s population and business growth, said David Martin, vice president of retail for Hong Kong-based Swire Properties, mall owner and manager.
The new tenants will include: coffeehouse chain Starbucks; denim clothing company Levi’s; all-day diner Café Americano; Italian men’s clothing store Luca Faloni; American restaurant The Henry; and local Boba tea seller Miu Tea. Next year gourmet burger chain Black Tap Craft Burgers & Beer — known for extravagant milkshakes — is expected to join them at the urban mall.
Already a concrete jungle, Brickell keeps adding pricey condominium towers, including Lofty Brickell, The Residences at 1428 Brickell and a St. Regis Residences.
The office market there also is red hot. Technology, financial and legal powerhouses from outside Florida have been moving in or soon will,
such as global megabank BNP Paribas and top U.S. corporate law firms Kirkland & Ellis and Sidley Austin, all of which signed leases at 830 Brickell — the city’s priciest office tower.
And in perhaps the most prominent U.S. corporate relocation announced last year, Chicago-based hedge fund operator Citadel and its securities-trading arm, Citadel Securities, are in the process of relocating their home bases to Brickell.
Billionaire Ken Griffin, Citadel founder and CEO, has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on residential properties in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties, including paying a Miami-Dade record $106.9 million for the Adrienne Arsht waterfront estate in Coconut Grove.
Brickell City Centre originally aimed to cater to luxury shoppers in Miami-Dade’s urban core with expensive eateries and high-end shops.
Then it leaned towards experiential retailers like Puttshack indoor mini-golf with a bar and restaurant, events and a tenant mix for nearby families and young couples. Now, mall managers said they’re aiming for consumers between 21 and 45 willing to shop for goods and services at a wide range of prices.
“The mall had some initial challenges, from opening without a full roster of tenants, to the lackluster reception to its anchor food hall, and culminating with a pandemic hitting right as the mall was getting its sea legs.
“Though like most new retail developments of this scale, it’s never perfect out of the gate,” said Frank Begrowicz, senior director of retail brokerage at commercial real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield.
“To their credit, they have taken those challenges and turned them into opportunities to upgrade and enhance their tenant mix.”
Mall managers declined to provide the price range of monthly rents at Brickell City Centre or the total number of visitors in 2021 and 2022, but said the shopping center is 93% full with shops and restaurants. That means 112 out of its 121 spaces are leased.
The influx of new tenants reflects a regional trend, Begrowicz said.
“Brickell has been the clear winner in attracting a good portion of the in-migration of residents and corporations who flocked to Miami for both a better quality of life and the tax advantages that Florida offers over other top-tier U.S. cities,” he said. “However, this is really a Miami success story and the entire market is benefiting from being on a national stage.”
The region’s population growth has attracted many independently-owned businesses and national chains. Other communities are also experiencing waves of new shops and restaurants, including Miami Beach and Coral Gables.
Here is when the new retailers and eateries will come to Brickell City Centre:
Starbucks, by September. Levi’s, in February.
Café Americano, in February.
Luca Faloni, in February. The Henry, by June.
Miu Tea, by September. Black Tap Craft Burgers & Beer, by March 2024.