The Miami Herald

Lincoln Road keeps growing--and its small businesses keep closing

By Rene Rodriguez

‍

Over the last five years, a wave of out-of-town investors have paid record-high prices for Lincoln Road properties looking to capitalize on the Beach's international cachet. Increasingly, small businesses unable to keep pace with the skyrocketing rents in the historic Miami Beach shopping district are being forced to decide between relocating or closing...The new tenants that have replaced them — global brands with the means to rent large spaces and hire top-shelf architects to design their stores — have raised Lincoln Road's visibility as an international shopping destination, drawing millions of visitors who help cushion the city's coffers. A major refurbishing to improve the Road's infrastructure and aesthetics is scheduled for 2019.

‍

Changing landscape

Analysts say the progression from mom-and-pop clothing and jewelry stores to bigger names such as John Varvatos, Guess, Diesel and Banana Republic are part of the natural evolution of one of the most iconic shopping districts in the U.S. — as well as the city of Miami Beach itself.

"Lincoln Road is a unique street, and the makeup of the stores there is changing based on what does well," said Zach Winkler, senior vice president and South Florida retail lead for the investment management company Jones Lang LaSalle. "Big box stores such as Forever 21 and Zara are doing really well. Miami Beach is always progressing and morphing into what could be the most useful allocation. It's not that these small businesses are being pushed out: It's more that they're being relocated."

Deep-pocketed retailers have amped up Lincoln Road's style. Apple hired the Miami-based Touzet Studio firm to make its store at 1021 Lincoln Road evocative of the Chrysler auto showroom that occupied the space in the 1930s. Nike used giant terrazzo panels, tile-and-lighting installations and concrete-and-iron patterns to give its 30,000-square-foot Nike Miami store at 1035 Lincoln Road, which opened in 2017, a distinct vibe.

The shift in Lincoln Road tenants also reflects Miami Beach's increasingly high-net worth population. According to EWM Realty International, Miami Beach is the 11th most expensive city in the world ranked by price per square foot for residential properties ($850) — costlier than Beijing, Rome and Frankfurt (New York is the highest in the U.S. at $2,089; Miami clocks in at $505).

‍

Read the full article here or learn more about the projects.