Miami Design District: Fashion, food and art

The several-block stretch of Miami that houses art galleries, mouth-watering eateries, high-end fashion and furniture showrooms got its start in sofas.

``From the beginning, the Design District was an international destination,'' said Craig Robins, CEO of real estate company Dacra, the primary landlord. ``The bad news was that furniture design doesn't attract a lot of foot traffic.''

While the neighborhood still doesn't get the general traffic of, say, Aventura Mall or Lincoln Road in South Beach, its reputation has gone from near-deserted trade district to Mecca of chic.

Within the last couple years, high-end retailers like Marni, Tomas Maier and Christian Louboutin have opened, and restaurants like Michael's Genuine Food & Drink and Sra. Martinez have established the district as a culinary destination.

Dacra spends about $2 million to promote the area, in large part through nontraditional methods like investing in public art or supporting exhibitions.

The strategy has focused on digital content, social media and online activity in recent years; print advertising is modest and mostly local, for example. Robins said he wants to get attention from sophisticated, creative visitors once they are already here rather than try to lure them to hop on a plane.

``If you start trying to advertise all over the world for something that's very localized, I think it's a mistake,'' he said.

Closer to home, the efforts also include putting on a monthly gallery walk and introducing $3 valet parking throughout the district.

For now, the neighborhood cannot pitch itself as a place to stay; there are no hotels. Robins said he has been approached by many, but wants to hold out for something unique.

Positioned on the west end of the Julia Tuttle Causeway, the district draws much of its traffic from Miami Beach -- and lost its flagship event, Design Miami, to the beach.

It was a decision Robins, majority owner of the event, made to give Design Miami more space and place it closer to Art Basel, the art world's annual descent on Miami Beach.

Robins was key to the redevelopment of South Beach two decades ago and then started buying property in the nearly deserted Design District in the mid-1990s. The 2002 arrival of Art Basel Miami Beach -- which Robins supported -- helped earn it widespread attention.

Though no clear numbers are availble, Robins said he believes the efforts to promote the locale as a destination is working.

``What we noticed this year was a very significant jump in retail sales to foreigners or tourists,'' he said. ``It was the first time the Design District broke from kind of being a local oasis to also attracting a lot of out of town guests.''

Eyeglass and clothing boutique owner Irina Chovkovy said she gets customers from around the world. They come to I on the District for the same reason she chose the Design District: because it is artsy, unusual and design-oriented.

Sloan Schaffer, owner of the commercial art gallery 101/exhibit, said he loves the area but thinks more work needs to be done to draw visitors. He works on committees trying to enhance amenities and draw more events to the area.

``It's this little niche that I think is really vital for Miami and it's a vibrant little area that has really defined its own mission and its own identity within the past couple of years,'' Schaffer said.

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/08/22/1785468/miami-design-district-fashion.html

-- HANNAH SAMPSON

DESIGN DISTRICT

Population: Not residential, but an estimated 65,000 in nearby Wynwood and Little Haiti.

The draw: Furniture, fashion, food and art

The pitch: Miami's creative laboratory

Budget: $2 million.

Who pays: Dacra, the real estate firm that owns much of the district

Challenge: No hotels

Website: miamidesigndistrict.net