Aventura Mall

**Aventura Mall** is an upscale shopping mall located in Aventura, Florida. It is the 16th largest mall in the United States by total square feet of retail space and the largest mall in Florida. The anchor stores are Nordstrom, Bloomingdale's, 2 Macy's stores, and JCPenney. The center is highlighted by a mix of over 300 stores, including Apple, Adidas, Anthropologie, Burberry, Cartier, Disney, Givenchy, Gucci, H&M, Louis Vuitton, MCM, Sephora, and Zara.

Aventura Mall also features more than 50 eateries and restaurants, including Treats Food Hall, and the experiential Arts Aventura Mall program showcasing 20 museum-quality pieces in a range of mediums.

The Brightline Aventura Station, now under construction, will be located adjacent to Aventura Mall on West Dixie Highway and will include a new pedestrian bridge over Biscayne Boulevard, providing riders direct access to the mall.

## History

In April 1983 the Oxford Development Company, led by partners Donald Soffer, Edward J. Lewis, Mark E. Mason, Eugene Lebowitz, and Ray Parello officially dedicated Aventura Mall. There would be four anchors in the original, 1.2-million-square-foot (110,000 m2), complex: Lord & Taylor, JCPenney (opened April 28, 1983), Sears (opened July 6, 1983, along with another at Miami International Mall) and 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, dedicated October 1, 1983).

On board as an original investor in the project was 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 a 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 1996 the ground was broken for a major expansion of Aventura Mall. The addition, built onto the southeast end of the existing complex, consisted of a three-story atrium with an AMC Theatres multiplex cinema and restaurants at a new entrance. A two-story Rainforest Cafe also opened, but was closed just a few years later and a Zara clothing store took its space, which then was subsequently replaced by an H&M on December 14, 2012. Part of the new development were two three-story parking garages surrounding the new anchor stores' southeast facades.

Two of the original anchors, JCPenney and Lord and Taylor, were enlarged and two department stores were built to anchor the addition. A three-story Bloomingdale's came inline November 8, 1997, with the new southeast mall wing being dedicated in December. The mall's three-story Burdines opened August 1, 1999.

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's and Kids' Fashions, and the former Burdines location housing Men's and Home Furnishings departments.

In July 2005 Nordstrom announced they would construct a store adjacent to the vacant Lord & Taylor, which would 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 Nordstrom wing officially opened on February 15, 2008.

In November 2017 Aventura Mall opened a three-level, 241,000-square-foot (22,400 m2) expansion wing that features two-story Zara and Topshop Topman stores, new restaurants, such as Serafina, Pubbelly Sushi, and Le Pain Quotidien, Treats Food Hall, including Shake Shack and Chipotle, and interactive art pieces, including the 93-foot-tall Aventura Slide Tower by Carsten Holler and Gorillas in the Mist by The Haas Brothers.

In March 2019 Aventura Mall opened LEVEL THREE, a 25,000 square-foot venue designed by Carlos Zapata. Its debut event was A Night on the RunWade, a charity soiree hosted by former Miami Heat great, Dwyane Wade.

On May 23rd, 2019, Topshop filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy. The Aventura Mall location closed in June 2019.

In August 2019 Apple relocated to a two-story space designed by architecture firm Foster + Partners. The store includes an amphitheater and indoor-outdoor Genius Grove.

In November 2019 Hermès of Paris, Inc. announced a signed lease agreement for a location inside Aventura Mall. The boutique is expected to open in Summer 2021.

On May 29th, 2020, two people were taken to the Aventura Hospital after a shooting incident occurred in the Nordstrom part of the Aventura Mall.

## See also

* Aventura Mall/Tenant List

Template:Simon Property Group