Lincoln Road poised for retail revival

With 16 new-to-market retail and restaurant tenants, 12 under-development stores, and a greater foot traffic than other Miami-Dade County destinations, Lincoln Road continues to be successful and is poised to have its retail revival going.

The Lincoln Road District’s storefront occupancy rate is 85%, reflecting currently occupied and leased stores, according to the Lincoln Road Business Improvement District (BID). Over the past 12 months, 16 new tenants are opening on the area, 14 of which are new-to-market operators.

Foot traffic, recorded by analytics tool Placer.ai, showed Lincoln Road reaching close to 8 million walking visits over the past year, higher than other destinations such as Miami Design District with 4.1 million, Brickell City Centre with 3.9 million, and Wynwood’s Second Avenue with 3.7 million, according to the Lincoln Road BID.

In October, Chinese fashion brand Yoyoso occupied 5,600 square feet on 1111 Lincoln Road. Barcelona-based fashion retailer Mango also opened a 4,628-square-foot store at 1036 Lincoln Road. Furniture and home décor store West Elm is now occupying 10,237 square feet in the area as well.

On the restaurants side, Andres Carne de Res, a popular Colombian restaurant, is making its US debut on 455 Lincoln Road. The Colombian restaurateurs will occupy about 5,000 square feet in a two-story building with a rooftop deck, where 5 Napkin Burger had been before the location stood vacant since 2015. Construction is set to start soon, according to the Lincoln Road BID.

In addition, The Cheesecake Factory is signing a lease at 600 Lincoln Road, Salt & Straw is also to open at 749 Lincoln Road, and New York-based Mexican taqueria Tacombi has recently opened at 1688 Meridian Ave. and is leasing 2,800 square feet.

Also, 12 stores are currently under development to be leased to new-to-market tenants, including Toronto-based Lighthouse Immersive, the company running the Van Gogh Immersive Exhibit nationwide, which is building a restaurant with virtual displays in the 23,000-square-foot space where the 1940s Beach House used to be, between Paul’s Bakery and the Time Out Market, which has been vacant for over 20 years. The developers are currently working on its design.

Following the successful Fernando Botero sculptures exhibition in Lincoln Road, which was unveiled in 2019, the Lincoln Road BID is bringing another exhibit of 12 sculptures by French artist Richard Orlinkski, which are to be unveiled Nov. 30, just before Art Basel, said Lyle Stern, BID president. A space for a pop-up gallery at 801 Lincoln Road is also to be opened at the same time.

The Peekaboo Art Galleries, a cooperative of local artists with 12 individual studios under the leadership of artist Jayda Knight, is hosting another season of The Black Plum Room, digital works of four artists “presenting their own explorations between creating in real life and working virtually,” according to Miami Beach Arts and Culture.

This year, New York City’s UrbanSpace is bringing its Holiday Market to Lincoln Road, where almost 150 local vendors are to exhibit their products from Nov. 15 to Feb. 15.

“UrbanSpace is very well known for the millennium artists they put out in New York, the largest one is in Bryant Park – and it’s spectacular,” said Mr. Stern. “They were looking for a site outside of New York. We reached out to them, and after they looked throughout all of South Florida they loved Lincoln Road, and we entered into an agreement with them.”

Some of the South Florida gastronomic brands to be displayed include Watsons Bay Coffee Co., Miami ‘N’ Ice, and Wicked Bread. Other national brands are Luke’s Lobster, MozzArepas, and Oyster Party, Poured Loved candles, Jaharii jewelry, accessories brand Pawies, and Gabriela Ceballos Jewelry.

Lincoln Road has also seen close to $6 billion of real estate and hospitality investments in the area, as Class A office and storefronts are being leased, according to the Lincoln Road BID. An example of this is developer Michael Shvo, who has submitted three proposals to the city.

The first, The Alton, would be a six-story, 250,000-square-foot Class A office and commercial space in 1656-1680 Alton Road and 1677 West Ave., designed by Norman Foster from Foster & Partners and Kobi Karp Architects. The project is under development and is expected to be built in 2025.

Another Class A office building is to be One Sounds Park, a six-floor, 52,500-square-foot development designed by Peter Marino and Kobi Karp Architecture, which is expected to be built in 2024 and is under development. The building is to be at 1665-1667 Washington Ave.

Lastly, Michael Shvo is also planning to redevelop the 313,000-square-foot 1940s Rosewood Hotel and Residences into The Raleigh at 1775 Collins Ave. The project is to be a 60-room and suite hotel and 44 residences managed by Rosewood. The residences are to be in the newly constructed 17-story oceanfront tower.

He has also filed plans to redevelop the iconic Lincoln Road clocktower building at 407 Lincoln Road.

“What we’ve tried to do,” said Mr. Stern, “is to approach each part of the community’s culture – music, art, retail, food – at all different levels and price-points to really democratize our street offering, so that there is something for everybody, from amazing arts installations to great street food to higher-end food experience.”