Southwest 88th Street and Southwest 72nd Avenue
Dade County, Florida
Metro-Dade's third shopping mall was built on a 71-acre tract, located 10 miles southwest of Miami's Central Business District. The site was in an unincorporated section of Dade County known as Kendall and was adjacent to the new "Palmetto Bypass Expressway," which had opened to traffic in June 1961.
DADELAND CENTER, officially dedicated on October 1, 1962, enveloped approximately 456,500 leasable square feet. The open-air complex was developed by Baltimore's Joseph Meyerhoff, under the auspices of Monumental Properties, and was designed by Herbert Johnson of Weed-Johnson Associates.
The initial phase of DADELAND CENTER, consisting of sixty-two stores and services, was anchored by a 2-level (141,000 square foot), Miami-based Burdine's ["bur-diynz"]. Charter stores included Baker's Shoes, Cinderella Shoes, Dadeland Laundry & Dry Cleaners, Hartley's apparel, Paris Hats and the Yum Yum Shop ice cream parlor. Junior anchors were Gray Drug, an S.S. Kresge 5 & 10 and Food Fair supermarket.
A second phase of construction added a 3-level (210,000 square foot), Miami-based Jordan Marsh Florida. This store opened on November 7, 1966. Burdine's was also enlarged with a 1-level eastern addition, which included a rooftop parking deck. The store, re-dedicated on November 11, 1966, encompassed 251,000 square feet.
In late 1969, construction commenced on another Burdine's expansion. This entailed construction of a 3-level northward addition and adjacent parking garage. When work was completed, the store encompassed approximately 401,000 square feet. A grand re-opening was held in September 1970. At the same time, a fully-enclosed East Mall was being added to the shopping hub. One of its tenants, The King of the Mall (a supersize Burger King), served its first Whopper in November 1970. As the East Mall was being built, the existing mall structure -now known as the West Mall- was enclosed and air-conditioned.
The final facet of the renovation was the completion of a 2-level ((191,400 square foot) J.C. Penney. This store, which anchored the new East Mall, welcomed its first shoppers on January 28, 1971. With these improvements, DADELAND MALL covered approximately 1.2 million leasable square feet and contained ninety-nine stores beneath its roof. Burdines grew again with a 150,000 square foot addition. When completed in 1973, the mercantile covered 401,000 square feet and was Florida's largest suburban department store.
Major shopping venues in the DADELAND trade area included MIDWAY MALL (1970) {5.6 miles north, in Dade County}, WESTLAND MALL (1971) {12.4 miles north, in Hialeah}, CUTLER RIDGE REGIONAL CENTER (1960) {8.3 miles southwest, in Dade County} (which morphed into CUTLER RIDGE MALL in 1978) and THE FALLS (1979) {3.3 miles southwest, also in Dade County}.
Monumental Properties sold DADELAND MALL to Atlanta-based Equitable Real Estate Investment Management, Incorporated in 1979. In an attempt to make the mall more upscale, tenants such as Foremost Liquors, Dadeland Barber Shop, Robins' Uniform Shop and the freestanding Burdine's Tire Center were evicted or required to close. The Food Fair supermarket had been rebranded with a Pantry Pride nameplate in February 1976. The store was shuttered in late 1981. Its area was repurposed as the 15-bay Terrace Food Court, which opened in mid-1982.
Soon after, Burdines was enlarged. A 26,000 square foot addition, completed in mid-1983, brought the store's retail area up to 427,000 square feet. In October 1983, a 13 million dollar mall renovation got underway. This project added new flooring, skylights and parking spaces. Early '60s animal statuary, geometric slide sculptures and fountains were removed.
Monumental Properties sold DADELAND MALL to Atlanta-based Equitable Real Estate Investment Management, Incorporated in 1979. In an attempt to make the mall more upscale, tenants such as Foremost Liquors, Dadeland Barber Shop, Robins' Uniform Shop and the freestanding Burdine's Tire Center were evicted or required to close. The Food Fair supermarket had been rebranded with a Pantry Pride nameplate in February 1976. The store was shuttered in late 1981. Its area was repurposed as the 15-bay Terrace Food Court, which opened in mid-1982.
Soon after, Burdines was enlarged. A 26,000 square foot addition, completed in mid-1983, brought the store's retail area up to 427,000 square feet. In October 1983, a 13 million dollar mall renovation got underway. This project added new flooring, skylights and parking spaces. Early '60s animal statuary, geometric slide sculptures and fountains were removed.
As the renovation and expansion were being carried out, the shopping venue was becoming rapid transit-accessible. On May 20, 1984, revenue service was inaugurated on the Dadeland South to Overtown-Arena MetroRail route.
The latest mall refurbishment brought two new anchor stores. The first, a 2-level (78,600 square foot) Saks Fifth Avenue, opened on November 3, 1984. A 2-level (80,000 square foot) Lord & Taylor debuted on February 3, 1986. An additional parking structure was also built in the rear parking area. When construction dust settled, DADELAND MALL covered approximately 1,350,000 leasable square feet. Its tenant roster listed 160 stores and services.
A 10 million dollar remodeling got underway in 1990. It included interior face lifts, a new Main Entrance, and construction of a sixth anchor; a 2-level (80,000 square foot) Limited-Express Superplex. This facility housed six inline stores and held its grand opening on November 1, 1991. DADELAND MALL now encompassed around 1,430,000 leasable square feet and contained 175 stores and services.
Jordan Marsh at DADELAND was shuttered on September 30, 1991. A Burdines Home Store opened, in the Jordan's space, on November 11, 1993. In August 1997, the Indianapolis-based Simon Debartolo Group (today's Simon Property Group) acquired a controlling interest in the mall.
Burdines had expanded their store further and now encompassed 420,000 square feet, becoming the chain's flagship. The store was rebranded as a Burdines-Macy's January 30, 2004 and was fully "Macy-ated" on March 6, 2005. With this rebranding, the Burdines Home Store became a Macy's Children's-Home-Furniture operation.
Lord & Taylor was shuttered in 2003. The building was razed, with a 2-level (150,000 square foot) Nordstrom taking its place. It began business on November 13, 2004. Always staying ahead of the game, the Simon Property Group announced another DADELAND renovation in March 2012. The project commenced with the demolition of a vacant Limited-Express Superplex, in February 2012.
A new Kendall Wing was built, which encompassed 2 levels and 102,000 leasable square feet. Its "Fashion Runway" housed Hugo Boss, Tommy Bahama and Stewart Weltzman. An adjacent parking deck was also expanded from 3 levels to 5. New stores were officially dedicated in March 2013.
The second stage of the project consisted of the installation of five casual dining restaurants. Earl's Kitchen + Bar, Texas de Brazil and Bobby's Burger Palace were open for business by March 2014. Aoki Teppanyaki and Balans followed, in May 2014. DADELAND MALL now spanned approximately 1,510,000 leasable square feet and contained 210 stores and services.
Jordan Marsh at DADELAND was shuttered on September 30, 1991. A Burdines Home Store opened, in the Jordan's space, on November 11, 1993. In August 1997, the Indianapolis-based Simon Debartolo Group (today's Simon Property Group) acquired a controlling interest in the mall.
Lord & Taylor was shuttered in 2003. The building was razed, with a 2-level (150,000 square foot) Nordstrom taking its place. It began business on November 13, 2004. Always staying ahead of the game, the Simon Property Group announced another DADELAND renovation in March 2012. The project commenced with the demolition of a vacant Limited-Express Superplex, in February 2012.
A new Kendall Wing was built, which encompassed 2 levels and 102,000 leasable square feet. Its "Fashion Runway" housed Hugo Boss, Tommy Bahama and Stewart Weltzman. An adjacent parking deck was also expanded from 3 levels to 5. New stores were officially dedicated in March 2013.
The second stage of the project consisted of the installation of five casual dining restaurants. Earl's Kitchen + Bar, Texas de Brazil and Bobby's Burger Palace were open for business by March 2014. Aoki Teppanyaki and Balans followed, in May 2014. DADELAND MALL now spanned approximately 1,510,000 leasable square feet and contained 210 stores and services.
DADELAND MALL closed, as a Covid-19 precautionary measure, on March 18, 2020. Stores re-opened on May 18 of the same year. Nordstrom, Incorporated decided to permanently shutter their underperforming store, which went dark in July 2020.
Sources:
The Miami News
The Miami News
The Miami Herald
preservenet.cornell.edu/publications/Longstreth Branch Store.doc
www.pbase.com / "Memories of Old Miami and Dade County"
www.simon.com
www.bizjournals.com
Memories of Ed Morgan / Metro-Dade resident 1957-2006
Miami-Dade, Florida Tax Assessor website
http://www.miaminewtimes.com
http://www.miami.com
preservenet.cornell.edu/publications/Longstreth Branch Store.doc
www.pbase.com / "Memories of Old Miami and Dade County"
www.simon.com
www.bizjournals.com
Memories of Ed Morgan / Metro-Dade resident 1957-2006
Miami-Dade, Florida Tax Assessor website
http://www.miaminewtimes.com
http://www.miami.com
