Brickell’s tenant roster gains more panache

Forget South Beach. Brickell City Centre is shaping up as the place to be and be seen in the Miami area with 11 more retail tenants added ahead of a planned November opening.



Eleven new tenants have joined the 500,000-sq.-ft. Brickell City Centre retail development scheduled to open this November in an area of Miami developers of the project describe as underserved.



Swire Properties Inc, one of South Florida's leading international developers of urban real estate, along with retail co-developers Whitman Family Development and Simon Property Group, announced 11 new retailers set to join the $1.05 billion Brickell City Centre mix-use project. The retailers include: Baldinini, Boglioli, Bruno Magli, Carmen Steffens, Hugo Boss, Lafayette 148, Samsonite, Sephora, SPARIS, Tommy Bahama, Violetas/ Baccarat.



The retail center is set to open this November, with tenants already beginning to outfit their individual stores. One of the two condominium towers, Reach, opened its doors in April with the second tower, Rise, expected to open this summer. One of the two class-A office towers, Three Brickell City Centre, opened in February with Florida's leading law firm, Akerman Law, as the anchor tenant. The second office tower, Two Brickell City Centre, is set to open this summer.



"We've strived to make a positive, long-term impact in all aspects of BCC's retail center," said Debora Overholt, VP of retail at Swire Properties. "Not only are we bringing a mix of both beloved and new brands to an under-served market in Miami, but the shopping center will be creating thousands of jobs for our local community."



Luxury brands will be located throughout the street-accessible first floor of Brickell City Centre's retail component. Others will open on the second and third floors, emphasizing premium and contemporary retailers along with a mix of beauty, home decor, jewelry, apparel and other stores.



The food and beverage offerings, an integral piece of the Brickell City Centre retail concept, will be situated throughout the third floor, offering a mix of fine dining, casual fare and new international brands opening flagships in the U.S. Brickell City Centre will offer a unique vertical shopping experience, a successful shopping model common in international cities and well-recognized by global travelers.



"It has been our goal to create a retail center where shoppers have access to a diverse lineup of brands to choose from," said Courtney Lord, vice president of leasing for Whitman Family Development. "We are very pleased to welcome recognized retail brands such as Sephora to join what we call our first-to-market tenants, which are opening their very first U.S. flagships at Brickell City Centre."



The shopping center will seamlessly connect with Miami's key transportation nodes. Swire Properties is incorporating a Miami Metromover stop that exits directly into the shopping center's third floor to allow easy and convenient access. The shopping center will also ease vehicle movement with an expansive two-story underground carpark that traverses streets in the lower level.



"Brickell City Centre is built as a destination in of itself – with the hotel, cinema, and other attractions creating an environment where shoppers want to and are able to stay longer," said Sharon Polonia, executive VP of leasing at Simon.



Saks Fifth Avenue will serve as Brickell City Centre's anchor tenant and will occupy three floors of the shopping center with street-level access.