Target, Costco, and Maybe Trader Joe's Could Be Coming to Brickell

Forget condo building. Like we said yesterday, this decade's Miami building boom appears to be all about retail. Now come reports that developers are looking to build a major retail center in Brickell with big-box stores in the vein of the Midblock area of the Shops at Midtown Miami. According to the South Florida Business Journal, potential anchor stores such as Target, Trader Joe's, and Costco have been contacted about the possibility of moving in.

The potential project is being handled by Aventura-based Cabi Developers, and it has received bankruptcy court approval to move forward. The 520,000-square-foot development would be known as Capital Brickell Place and located at 1420 S. Miami Ave.

Of course, no one has signed a lease, and there's nothing set in stone. A Target make sense, and it would be the second within City of Miami limits. We're not familiar with many Costco-like shops in dense urban areas. That's more of a suburban-spawn type of joint, but you never know. Of course, the possibility of a Trader Joe's would likely have the most people talking.

My dad likes to make this joke about Whole Foods by calling it "Whole Paycheck." Your dad probably makes that joke too. Dad humor! Well, Trader Joe's has a lot of the same yuppie, organic, foodie stuff, but at better prices. Though, so far, the store hasn't entered the Miami market. Do you know Naples has a Trader Joe's and we don't? That doesn't seem right. But a Trader Joe's rep told the Miami Herald that the chain doesn't have any plans to move into Miami within the next two years.

As far as the development goes, the plan would encourage pedestrian traffic and also include street-level shops and restaurants.

The proposed development isn't the only Brickell retail complex on the table. The mixed-use Brickell CitiCenter, currently under construction, has about 520,000 square feet of retail space.

After filling the areas of Brickell and downtown with office buildings and condos over the past decade and a half, it appears retail is the next frontier. Which is nice, because it should make those neighborhoods a bit more livable.

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