Miami Luxe
Craig Robins, CEO of Design District co-owner Dacra, began accumulating buildings in the area in the late 1990s, transforming a patch of largely abandoned furniture showrooms that were "unrenovated and a dump," he said. Robins estimates that he paid around $15 million for about half of the Design District… Based on the district's roughly 1 million square feet, that suggests the entire property would have a valuation of around $4 billion.
Miles from South Beach's glitz and Palm Beach's old-money milieu, Miami's Design District is one of the most distinct testaments to the wealth transforming South Florida. More than an outdoor mall, its developers pitch it as a neighborhood dedicated to art and architecture, as well as fashion and food. That's helped vault it to the ranks of the most expensive shopping destinations in the country.
The Design District's retail rents surged 67% to $500 a square foot last year, according to brokerage Cushman & Wakefield. That was the biggest increase among high-end shopping areas in the Americas. The district is now No. 5 on the real estate firm's ranking of the priciest US retail streets, up from No. 11 the prior year.
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