When was aventura mall opened

The latest culinary craze has swept Miami and a wealth of food halls have opened in short order. From Italian to Asian to health food, these food halls are draw Of cou A destination for shopping, golf and fine dining, Aventura hugs the Intracoastal Waterway making for a picturesque destination.

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Close Log in. Reset Password. Blackbird by Harrison Boyce. Aventura Mall expansion with largest Apple store in Florida. Gorillas in the Mist by the Haas Brothers. Overview Details Aventura Mall. Explore Now. Best Farmers' Markets in Miami Stories. How to get Around with Miami Metrobus Stories. There was doubt that a mall without a supermarket could sustain itself. In fact, when construction on the mall began, none of the retail storefronts had been rented.

But Whitman had confidence in the project's viability. With the last-minute announcement that Neiman Marcus would be the mall's anchor tenant, the rest of the storefronts quickly followed. When it opened, Bal Harbour Shops was surrounded by 2, hotel rooms, expensive homes, and luxury apartments. Whitman was quoted as saying, "It'll go because the Gold Coast has become a year-round resort where the wealthy tourist is the cake and the wealthy South Florida resident is the icing.

Bal Harbour Shops' strategic placement and carefully curated retailers proved to be immensely successful from the get-go and remain that way. The Omni represented a returned faith in Miami's downtown as a viable financial center of commerce. The development became a beacon for other multimillion-dollar developments. It was one of the few malls built amid patterned gentrification rather than on undeveloped farmland. Dozens of homes were demolished, although one stubborn owner refused to sell, resulting in a largely comedic scenario in which a small home was situated feet from a massive urban shopping complex.

It's also worth noting the Omni was among the first fully enclosed malls in the area. The project was unlike anything Miami had seen. It housed a hotel and a multiplex movie theater.

Perhaps most fondly remembered was the large children's carousel. As the '80s dawned, shopping centers enjoyed a heyday throughout the decade. Wealthy Latin American tourists cycled in and out of the hotel attached to the Omni. Eventually, the mall suffered several years of waning sales before the company that operated it went out of business by The Omni is also worth mentioning because the structure was successfully repurposed for a university and businesses.

It's largely accepted that repurposing older buildings is more environmentally friendly than demolishing and rebuilding, because the amount of fuel burned in demolition is staggering, plus new structures require more building materials. Ah, the '80s. Aventura Mall, essentially a small city of commerce, opened in April It stands today as the second largest shopping mall in the nation behind Mall of America in Minnesota and the largest in Florida, not including outlets.

It includes a whopping five department stores, retailers, 50 eateries, an AMC Theatres cineplex, a foot-tall slide tower, and more than 20 museum-quality works of art. Nothing in Dade County had ever been so large, and nothing larger has been built since.

Aventura Mall measured more than 1. It currently offers 9, parking spaces and three levels of shopping. It holds the distinction of hosting the first Macy's in Dade County. I t's no secret the American mall is hurting. Countless shopping centers across the nation have been shuttered and abandoned, their remains left to weather. Online business, meanwhile, is booming. In fact, it could be argued the smart phone has replaced the need for the American shopping center.

No, it's not exactly the same, but's it's not entirely different either. More than a few questions are left to be answered. What will we do with these giant commercial structures? In , International Mall on downtown Miami's Flagler Street was purchased by billionaire businessman Moishe Mana and is currently being used as artist studios.

Perhaps the arts will play a large role in repurposing and rebirthing these colossal structures. As of now, it's too soon to say for sure. Another question: Are we simply on the cusp of a change in the role that malls will play for future generations? After the birth of Aventura Mall in the '80s, there was little development in the shopping mall as a concept.

But then America's largest shopping center was proposed to be built in Northwest Miami-Dade. Ominously and unapologetically named American Dream Miami, it's planned to include 2, hotel rooms, an amusement park, a Ferris wheel, an ice rink, an indoor ski slope, a sea lion park, and an artificial lake for submarine rides. If it's ever built, it will be like Disney World without the branding.

The total retail area is projected to measure more than 6 million square feet. The viability of the project seems to be picking up traction despite pushback from naturalists who argue the complex would harm the nearby Everglades National Park.

Is the megamall a metaphor for the American dream? As we march into the digital age, abandoned structures are often left to decay as halls silently echo the sounds of yesteryear's crowds. If the American dream ever lived inside a Miami shopping mall, it seems as if it packed its wares, closed up shop, and left to pursue profits elsewhere. What remains is something entirely different.

Join the New Times community and help support independent local journalism in Miami. Get the latest updates in news, food, music and culture, and receive special offers direct to your inbox. Support Us Miami's independent source of local news and culture. Illustration by Nadal Naps. Support the independent voice of Miami and help keep the future of New Times free. Support Us. Nov 11, , am EST. Nov 10, , pm EST. Nov 10, , am EST. Edit Story. I write about retail and the forces that are redefining shopping.

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