Aventura Mall
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| Facts and statistics | |
|---|---|
| Location | Aventura, Florida United States |
| Opening date | 1983 |
| Developer | Oxford Development and the Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation |
| Management | Simon Property Group |
| Owner | Turnberry Associates |
| No. of stores and services | ≈ 280 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 6 |
| Total retail floor area | 2,400,000 square feet (223,000 m2) |
| Parking | 9,800 |
| No. of floors | 3 (shopping), 4 (offices) |
| Website | Official website |
The Aventura Mall is a super-regional shopping center located in Aventura, Florida, a major suburb of Miami. It is the largest conventional shopping mall in Florida, having a gross leasable area of 2,400,000 square feet (223,000 m2), and is the fifth largest shopping center in the United States. The mall has three floors of retail space, comprising over 280 shops. A food court with eighteen fast food eateries, as well several chains and world class restaurants at the mall's entrances, are present for the shopper's convenience and pleasure.
The mall is currently anchored by Bloomingdale's, J.C. Penney, Macy's (in two separate locations), Sears, and AMC Aventura 24 Theatres. In early 2008, a new three-story wing anchored by Nordstrom was completed.
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[edit] History
In 1983 Oxford Development, led by partners Donny Soffer, Edward J. Lewis and Ray Parello opened Aventura Mall with four anchors: J.C. Penney, Lord & Taylor, Macy's (the first in Florida; in a three story structure with Spanish architecture which became the template for future Macy's in South Florida), and Sears. On board as an original investor in the project was legendary mall-developer Edward J. DeBartolo Sr. The mall was originally designed to accommodate a fifth anchor, and there was even a section of drywall in place where its mall entrance would be located.
Soon after its construction Soffer left Oxford. As part of the break-up of assets, Soffer's new firm, Turnberry Associates assumed control of the Aventura Mall. In 1996 the DeBartolo Realty Corporation, which owned the minority interest once held by Edward J. DeBartolo, was acquired by Simon Property Group.
In 1998 a major expansion was completed in which the two-story mall was extended and two new anchors were added—Bloomingdale's, and a Burdines opened in August, 1999 (Burdines relocated from the 163rd Street Mall, but remained open for a year afterwards). The same project also saw the addition of a three-story atrium with an AMC Theatres multiplex cinema and restaurants at the center's new entrance. A rare two-story Rainforest Cafe also opened, but was closed just a few years later and a Zara clothing store took its space. Part of the new development were two three-story parking garages surrounding the new anchor stores' southeast facades.
Burdines and Macy's were merged in early 2004 by their common parent, Federated Department Stores, to form Burdines-Macy's and a year later "simply" Macy's. Both locations at Aventura Mall were retained, with the original Macy's being devoted to Women and Kid's Fashions, and the former Burdines location housing Men's and Home Furnishings departments. Lord & Taylor closed their store the same year as they withdrew from the Floridian market.
In July, 2005, Nordstrom announced they would construct a store adjacent to the former Lord & Taylor, which would itself be demolished and rebuilt as additional mall retail space. As part of the pending Nordstrom wing expansion, the rest of the mall underwent a $20 million renovation in late-2006. The Nordstorm wing officially opened on February 15, 2008.
[edit] Location
Although the mall is not located on a freeway or Interstate Highway (I-95 is over two miles away) it does have an exit off of the William Lehman Causeway, a mile-long road built to freeway standards that connects the beaches with U.S. 1 (Biscayne Boulevard). The mall opened around the same time as the causeway, which was built at a high enough level to eliminate drawbridge delays over the busy Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. That, along with Biscayne Boulevard, generate more than enough traffic to sustain the mall.
When the Aventura Mall opened, it was located in unincorporated Miami-Dade County. The area had been referred to respectively as "Aventura", given by a local developer, for several years prior to the building of the mall. The name became more well known because of the mall's existence, and when the surroundings were eventually incorporated in 1996, the municipality was officially named the City of Aventura.
[edit] Anchors
- Bloomingdale's; 3 floors, 251,831 square feet (23,395.9 m2)
- J.C. Penney; 2 floors, 197,759 square feet (18,372.4 m2)
- Macy's
- Macy's Women's Store; 3 floors, 252,000 square feet (23,400 m2)
- Macy's Men's, Home & Furniture Store; 3 floors, 225,000 square feet (20,900 m2)
- Nordstrom; 2 floors, 167,000 square feet (15,500 m2)
- Sears; 2 floors, 191,809 square feet (17,819.6 m2)
[edit] References
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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Coordinates: 25°57′29″N 80°08′35″W / 25.95806°N 80.14306°W
