Located at the crossroads of Indian Trace and Saddle Club Roads in Weston, the 96,000-square-foot Weston Lakes Plaza is home to Publix, CVS, Bank of America, and Starbucks Coffee. The center is 89% occupied.

“In Weston, we are focusing on creating the right mix of nationals and locals that particularly cater to the demographic in Weston, which is the family-oriented affluent customer base,” Meerbott says. “That’s a different strategy than for Kendall Mall, but the overall goal is the same.”

Retail property operations in Miami-Dade County continued to stabilize in the second half of 2010 as the grip of a deep recession gradually eased, according to Marcus & Millichap. Store closures and the accumulation of vacant space have moderated, but property owners still lack leverage to raise rents.

“Overall Miami is still under retailed if you compare it to the national average,” Meerbott says. “So Miami has performed a little bit better than some other markets because there’s still significant demand for the product. Mind you, rent has come down from a year or two ago, but vacancies are declining so we are moving in the right direction overall.”