# Dolphin Mall

Dolphin Mall is a discount outlet shopping mall in Miami, Florida, United States. Opened in 2001, it consists of over 1,400,000 square feet (130,000 m$^2$) of retail space. Major tenants of the mall include Bass Pro Shops, Burlington, Forever 21, Marshalls, Off 5th, and Ross Dress for Less. Other amenities of the mall include Dave & Buster's and a movie theater owned by CMX. The mall is owned and managed by Taubman Centers, who developed it with Swerdlow Real Estate.

## History

Swerdlow Real Estate of Hollywood, Florida, first announced plans to build Dolphin Mall in March 1997 when the company acquired near the intersection of Florida's Turnpike (SR 91) and Dolphin East–West Expressway (SR 836) in Miami, Florida. Their plans called for a 1,400,000-square-foot (130,000 m$^2$) retail shopping mall with outlet stores. The mall was considered by developers and retail analysts to be a competitor of Sawgrass Mills, another large outlet mall in Sunrise, Florida, which opened in 1990. Construction began in June 1998, by which point Swerdlow had confirmed a number of tenants. Among these were a movie theater and Dave & Buster's, along with Burlington Coat Factory (now known as Burlington), Off 5th (an outlet division of Saks Fifth Avenue), Marshalls, and Oshman's Sporting Goods. By May 1999, Swerdlow announced plans to form a joint venture with Taubman Centers of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, to assist in development of the mall.
The mall was to feature over 150 inline stores. Overall, the mall occupied 120 acres (49 ha) of space and had 7,800 parking spaces. Beame Architectural Partnership was the architect. Building costs were estimated at $290,000,000. Because of its proximity to Miami International Airport and Miami's Latin American population, developers sought to include amenities suitable for Latin Americans and travelers. These included hiring staffers who speak Spanish, Latin American-themed decor within the mall, unisex bathrooms, and storage lockers big enough to hold luggage. In addition, Dolphin Mall featured shuttle service to and from the airport. To promote the mall, Miami's convention and visitors' bureau hired Lucia Plazas-Champ to represent the mall's opening and promote it at various international capitals. Additionally, the mall featured different decor in each wing, each referred to by a different Spanish name: ramblas ("the walk"), playa ("beach"), and moda ("fashion"). The mall consisted mostly of one story except for the ramblas area, which featured the movie theater and Dave & Buster's on a second level overlooking the rest of the mall. The playa section featured beach-styled decor, with storefronts meant to resemble cabanas and a focus on sporting goods and similar apparel; moda featured white walls and terrazo, with mostly fashion-oriented tenants; and ramblas had earth-toned storefronts consisting mainly of gift shops, restaurants, and entertainment options.

### Opening

Dolphin Mall opened for business on March 1, 2001. Opening day festivities included a parade and a New Orleans jazz band. Shoppers could also included souvenirs for the first 10,000 guests, and prize drawings to win shopping sprees at both the mall proper and individual retailers. Also available were two piñatas for guests to break open and discover numbered coins which they could redeem for prizes. Among the stores open for business on opening day were FYE, Linens 'n Things, Old Navy, Marshalls, and Burlington Coat Factory
At opening, business was slow at Dolphin Mall for a number of factors. Tenants of the mall noted that on opening day, several tenants such as the food court and theater were not yet open for business. Additionally, Taubman's construction budget for the mall was increased due to a number of repairs needed before the mall could open, including fire sprinklers and roofing. By the time the theater had opened at mid-year, mall tenants noted an increase in traffic, and Taubman signed on about 75 more stores to increase occupancy. Among these were Victoria's Secret, Borders Books & Music, TGI Fridays, and Limited Too. Taubman assumed Swerdlow's 50% share of the mall in October 2002, thus taking over complete ownership.

### After opening

Expansion plans announced in 2005 and completed in 2007 added Bass Pro Shops to the mall, as well as a Courtyard by Marriott hotel on the periphery. Additionally, a number of condominiums were developed around the mall at this point.
In 2010, Bloomingdale's opened its first outlet stores in the chain, doing so at both Dolphin Mall and Sawgrass Mills. At the time of the mall's tenth anniversary in 2011, research by Taubman Centers reported it to be one of the top 20 performing malls in the United States, which the company attributed to strong tourism and a different tenant mix than Sawgrass Mills. Additionally, while Sawgrass Mills tended to have more upscale stores such as Donna Karan, Taubman sought more lower-cost tenants at Dolphin Mall as a means of attracting tourists and families. IKEA announced plans in 2013 to build its second South Florida store adjacent to the mall.
An expansion begun in 2014 added a parking garage and five restaurants to the front of the mall. According to a 2014 study, the most popular non-American demographics of Dolphin Mall were Colombians and Brazilians. This book noted that it was common for Colombians to shop at malls in the United States because they often had drastically lower prices than found at malls in Colombia. Dolphin Mall developed its own smartphone app in 2016, which helps assist shoppers in navigating malls and finding deals at individual stores. Also in 2016, Sports Authority (which acquired Oshman's) closed its location at the mall and sold it back to Taubman Centers.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dolphin Mall was temporarily closed to the public. After it reopened, areas such as its children's play place were closed to the public, and areas of the mall were cleaned and disinfected daily.

## Impact

In the book A World Made for Money: Economy, Geography, and the Way We Live Today, Bret Wallach cites the success of Dolphin Mall as an example of shopping malls adapting to shoppers' demands by focusing on outlet stores. The book cited both it and Great Lakes Crossing Outlets in Auburn Hills, Michigan, as examples of Taubman having success with the outlet mall format instead of the conventional shopping malls for which they were previously known.