MIAMI (WSVN) - Brickell City Centre has a new place to eat and shop, and developers are hoping it will be a destination hub.
The Brickell City Centre is opening up shop, and there is lots to see already. By the end of the year, officials said 60 new stores will be open, making it a perfect place for that last-minute holiday shopping.
Everything from shoes, bags, sneakers and even bow ties can be found at the new center. “It’s just exactly as we wanted it,” said Deirdre Quinn, co-founder and CEO of Lafayette 148.
Lafayette 148 is just one store of the 60 that recently opened. Quinn said this is not just business for her. It’s personal since she grew up in the area. “I lived on Brickell Avenue, so if someone would have told me, 30 years later, that we’d open up our first flagship store in Brickell, I would have said, ‘Wow!’ So I’m so happy to be here,” she said.
The 4.9 million square-foot mixed use development is in the heart of the Brickell neighborhood. It took four years for construction, which is just about wrapping up, and spaces have filled up quickly.
Holiday decor filled the Brickell City Centre, but that’s not the only thing that’s sparkling. Lightweight linen, sparkling flats and jewelry were on full display.
“Menswear from Madrid. Everything is made in Madrid, and it is the first store inside the U.S.,” said Mirto store owner Valeria Cardenel.
She said choosing to plant her business in Miami was an easy choice, so she could open up her products to people from Latin America, Europe and all over the United States. “Especially for people in New York traveling for December and that time of year, Brickell City Centre is like the up and coming of Miami,” Cardenel said. “Everybody wants to be here. You just see people walking here and taking pictures because it’s beautiful! It’s crazy. It’s beautiful.”
Part of the beauty of the mall is what developers called the climate ribbon that can be seen up above. It’s designed to control the environment in the open air space.
The climate ribbon is part of what many people said sets it apart. “When I walk through this mall, I see it’s just not a normal mall,” Quinn said. “It’s a lifestyle mall, and that’s definitely what people want today.”
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.