Just before Art Basel, celebrity developer Craig Robins, founder and CEO of Dacra as well as Design Miami, has announced that Miami Design District has nearly doubled in size with the opening of several new buildings and stores including Rag & Bone. For the past 3 years, the district was only half-open, offering some of Miami's finest shopping with stunning designed buildings and beautiful walking streets. Miami Design District was on the way, but as Robins is building an entire new part of the city from a formerly desolate Little Haiti area, great things take time. Now, he explains, Miami Design District is starting to come into its own and for the first time shoppers and visitors can see "its full offering." Robins holds that retail sales in Dacra's Miami Design District properties have increase 40% in the past 6 months. The next stage will be the opening of 10 new restaurants including Ember and Kaido (restaurant by Chef Brad Kilgore), St. Roch Market (food hall), L’Atelier by Joël Robuchon (fine dining), Le Sushi by Joël Robuchon (Japanese), Le Bar by Joël Robuchon (lounge), Le Boutique by Joël Robuchon (bakery), Blue Bottle Coffee, and Roberta’s pizza. Also opening soon will be the Institute of Contemporary Art (museum), Gucci, Aesop, Creed, Empresa, Dolce & Gabbana, Celine, Joseph, Eres, Ralph & Russo, and Museum Garage which will bring 800 parking spaces. Some of the brands will be moving from their temporary locations to the final, permanent locations.  

Paradise Plaza, the open-air northern anchor of Miami Design District which is located 2 blocks north of Palm Court, will open in late November with many of the restaurants still finishing buildouts which are expected to open in December and January. Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop GIFT is already open in Paradise Plaza, which will offer more dining options than Palm Court. Connecting Paradise Plaza to Palm Court will be Paseo Ponti, an art-lined walkway which also features the already open OTL (cafe), Cartier and Hermès, amongst others. Also opening in early 2018 will be the Museum Garage which will have spots for 800 cars and will feature eccentric art installations by 5 different artists as the facade. Robins is expected to announce the Sweetbird North Hotel in the next few months. Stay tuned to PROFILEmiami for the most up-to-date coverage of Miami Design District.