Major Miami River Project Begins Phased Opening With Retail Segment

The $452 million River Landing Shops & Residences on the Miami River has embarked on phased opening starting with retailers despite the coronavirus pandemic’s hard hit on shopping foot traffic.

The 8.14-acre project visible north of the Dolphin Expressway has 345,000 square feet of retail and other commercial space, 135,000 square feet of office space, 528 market-rate apartments and more than 2,000 parking spaces along a 25-foot wide riverwalk.

The 2.2 million-square-foot development is at 1400 NW North River Drive, former home of the Mahi Shrine Auditorium.

The store openings are a major step forward for a project initiated nearly a decade ago.

“Welcoming the opening of our first retail tenants is the culmination of a process that began nearly a decade ago when we first contracted with the old Mahi Shrine Auditorium site in 2011,” Coralee Penabad, co-principal of developer Urban-X Group in Miami, said in a news release.

Retailers Hobby Lobby and Burlington Stores opened last Thursday. Next is Publix, which is opening Thursday, followed by Chase Bank on Monday, Five Below on Sept. 28 and AT&T on Oct. 1.

In the coming months, Ross Dress for Less, Planet Fitness, TJ Maxx, Old Navy, Chick-Fil-A and New York’s famous Ficelles Bakery are to open subsequently.

River Landing has incorporated curbside pickup spaces as consumers increasingly opt to order goods online and pick them up while maintaining social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic.

Negotiations are ongoing with restaurants to open next year in hopes COVID-19 cases would subside by then and patrons would feel safer dining out.

“The pandemic slowed down our negotiations with retail restaurant tenants, but as we have a better handle on COVID, retailers now see demand on the rise and are optimistic about 2021,”  Andrew Hellinger, Urban-X co-principal, said in prepared remarks.

A 25,500-square-foot restaurant space can be divided into seven concept restaurants ranging from fine dining to casual and family-style outlets.

Apartment leasing started this month for occupancy next month.

Colliers International executive managing director of office services Stephen Rutchik, office services director Tom Farmer and office services senior associate Tyler de la Pena, all in Miami, started office leasing this summer. No leases have been signed, but the team is in negotiations with one or two tenants.

River Landing is one of many projects rising on the Miami River and betting on its proximity to the Health District and Civic Center.

The project is minutes from Jackson Memorial Hospital, the University of Miami Health System, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute and the Miami VA Healthcare System. The Health District has a daytime population of more than 50,000.

The Civic Center includes the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building courthouse, the state attorney’s office and a county jail.

The riverfront location makes the retail segment more resilient with experiential shopping offering expansive views of the river. Aside front the riverwalk, there will be an open outdoor atrium for patrons and residents.

Hellinger said restaurant tenants have told the development team they want a location in the quickly redeveloping area.

“They tell us they want to enter this submarket because they see a pent-up demand for retail and restaurants in one of Miami’s most densely populated areas,” he said. “We expect to receive two letters of intent in the coming weeks and hope to announce new restaurant leases before the end of the year.”

Toronto-based H&R Real Estate Investment Trust owns the project, its first Miami venture.

“The opening of River Landing Shops & Residences is a milestone occasion for H&R REIT as our first ground-up development in Miami,” Tom Hofstedter, H&R REIT president and CEO, said in a news release. “Opening with nearly 70 percent of retail tenants committed is a testament to the strength of the Miami market and robust pent-up retail demand.”