It wasn’t that long ago—2008 to be exact—that Macy’s was sitting on the fence about making a long-term commitment to Downtown Miami. Wal-Mart passed over a bayfront site near the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts that same year. And a flood of high-rise condo development (along with about two million square feet of soon-to-arrive office space) led many to predict the urban core would become a class A ghost town.

To say that Downtown Miami’s revitalization efforts met with mixed reviews in the face of tremors from the global recession would be an understatement. The predictions were often of doom and gloom in the wake of the real estate boom.

Fast-forward three years, and Downtown Miami is winning over former naysayers in what may be the biggest renaissance story in the country. Although the road has sometimes been painfully slow, and though there are admittedly miles to go before the Magic City realizes the full potential of the promised 24/7 international epicenter, Downtown Miami has not only escaped the prophesied doom and gloom, it has also emerged as one of the fastest-growing markets in the country.