Publix Is Coming to Downtown, But It's Not the Area's First Supermarket

Artist's rendering via SFBJ

​Downtown Miami will see the construction of one of the first new major retail projects in years. Stiles Corp. announced plans to build a 57,200-square-foot, three-story shopping complex to be anchored by a Publix right on Biscayne Boulevard. That might be an encouraging sign for downtown development, but CBS4 is calling it downtown's "first supermaket." It's not. It's literally steps from an existing supermarket.

Our hungry sister blog, Short Order, in July first wrote about early plans for the Publix, but there are new details now.

The Publix, which will include a liquor store, pharmacy, bakery, and café, will take up 49,000 square feet and is expected to be completed by early 2012. The project, dubbed 18Biscayne, will be erected on a now-vacant lot off Biscayne Boulevard between 18th Street and 17th Terrace.

CBS4 claims, "You can shop for a lot of things in the heart of downtown Miami, but you can't visit the supermarket," in a story headlined, "Downtown Miami to Get First Supermarket."

Um, you guys, there's already a Price Choice supermarket that is catty-corner to the planned site.

​That doesn't change the big news that there's a new, giant piece of retail going up in the Biscayne corridor, though.

"Downtown Miami is one of South Florida's fastest-growing residential areas, and the arrival of a new Publix in the legendary Omni neighborhood will undoubtedly spark interest from other national and local retailers," reads a news release from Robert Breslau, president of Stiles Real Estate Investment Services Group, according to the South Florida Business Journal.

The developers also hope to sign a lease with a commercial bank for a 3,200-square-foot space. That'll leave about 5,000 square feet available for other stores.