The Miami Design District is a neighborhood in Miami, Florida, United States, and a shopping, dining and cultural destination. The Design District was redeveloped in the early 2000s under the direction of developer Craig Robins, president and CEO of Dacra, and L Real Estate with investment from General Growth Properties. It is home to over 130 art galleries, showrooms, creative services, architecture firms, luxury fashion stores, antiques dealers, eateries and bars.
Historically a part of Buena Vista, the Design District is located south of Lemon City (Little Haiti). It is roughly bound by North 36 St (US 27) to the south, North 43rd Street to the north, West First Avenue to the west and Biscayne Boulevard to the east.
The Design District is in the crossroads of many prominent Miami neighborhoods, with the artsy Wynwood neighborhood to the south, Lemon City (Little Haiti) and the historic 1920s Buena Vista neighborhood to the north, and the wealthy Upper East Side neighborhoods to the east. After decades of falling into disrepair, the Design District has been restored as a destination for the arts, design, and fashion.
High-end brands like Louis Vuitton, Dior, Prada, Saint Laurent and Hermes are located in the Design District as well as two Michelin Guide listed restaurants by Joël Robuchon, other eateries by award-winning chefs like Michael Schwartz and celebrities like Gloria and Emilio Estefan; a public art collection with works from Buckminster Fuller, Marc Newsom and Urs Fischer as well as museums and galleries like the Institute for Contemporary Art, Miami, The de la Cruz Collection of Contemporary Art and Locust Projects.
History
The area of land that is now the Design District was once a pineapple farm in a neighborhood referred to as Buena Vista. Farm owner, T.V. Moore, built the historic Moore Building in the 1920s for his family furniture business. The Moore Furniture Building was one of the first stores in the U.S. dedicated strictly to furniture.
By the 1980s and early-1990s, the Design District had fallen into disrepair, and it wasn't until the late 1990s, and early 2000s, that art and design stores began reopening.
Credited to starting the district is Craig Robins, who purchased many run-down buildings in the 18 square block area and persuaded many top designers, such as Alison Spear, Peter Page, Kartell, and Luminaire, as well as furniture and textile designer Holly Hunt to open studios and showrooms in the area.
Throughout the 2000s, the Design District continued to grow in popularity, and with heavy public and private investment in the neighborhood, the streets and sidewalks were redone, and new trees were planted.
In 2010, Dacra, of which Craig Robins is the founder and CEO, and L Real Estate (now L Catterton) formed a partnership to develop the Design District into a luxury shopping and lifestyle destination featuring prominent architects from around the world and flagship locations of fashion brands like Dior, Hermes and Louis Vuitton.
Today, signs and names with the name Buena Vista can still be seen throughout the area such as the Buena Vista Post Office, and Buena Vista School.
On 1 August 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a travel warning, advising pregnant women not to visit the Design District, Wynwood, and Midtown Miami areas to avoid getting the Zika virus. Governor Rick Scott lifted the area's "Zika Zone" designation on September 19, 2016.
Shopping
Currently, there are over 80 stores open in The District and 70 home design showrooms.
The District is home to many flagship luxury stores including Balenciaga, Celine, Christian Louboutin, Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, Fendi, Giorgio Armani, Givenchy, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Miu Miu, Prada, Saint Laurent and Tom Ford. The Design District houses one of the highest concentrations of jewelers in the world with jewelers and watchmakers like Bulgari, Cartier, Harry Winston, IWC Schaffhausen, Jaeger LeCoultre, Tiffany & Co., Van Cleef and Arpels and Vacheron Constantin.
Other fashion, beauty, and multibrand stores include beauty and wellness brands Aesop and Creed, plus contemporary brands like French labels Isabel Marant and BA&SH; Scandinavian brand, COS; as well as Rag and Bone, Theory and Alice + Olivia.
Design showrooms and stores in the Miami Design District include Eichholtz, Citco, Holly Hunt, Jonathan Adler, Luminaire, Minotti, Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, Omare, Poltrona Frau and The Rug Company among others.