clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Aventura is Miami's Best Neighborhood in 2014!

New, 4 comments

Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.

Photos: Raquel Zaldivar for Racked Miami

Before being whisked away to the Racked Awards tonight, we're officially rolling out our last and largest award yet (by square footage, anyways), as chosen by you, our readers. Let's give a big applause to the City of Aventura, for winning the Racked Award for the Best Neighborhood to Shop in this year!

Aventura is as north as you can get in Miami-Dade County before hitting Broward, but
that doesn't stop swarms of people from driving up Biscayne to shop there. Why? One monstrous, two-story, five department store touting, 24 screen movie theater boasting reason: Aventura Mall. In 2013 the GMCVB named Aventura Miami's fourth most visited attraction, and it consistently ranks as one of America's top five grossing shopping centers, which is what happens when you have over 28 million visitors annually.

What it lacks in parking spaces during the holidays (because who hasn't needed to wash their mouths out with soap while voraciously tracking down shoppers walking to their cars) and quiet shopping moments (because please, this is a mall after all), it gains in its sheer breadth of essential retailers for people of all wallet depths, whether you want to scour Forever21 for $10 deals, stock up on moderate work essentials at Ann Taylor, or splurge in any number of their newly welcomed luxury retailers, from Cartier to Burberry, and Philipp Plein to Pucci.

Before the year closes, Aventura Mall will see some major changes, with stores like Michael Kors and Lululemon expanding and shifting locations, and others like Fendi and a newly opened museum-like DVF store broadening the luxury spectrum. Next year, however, changes will impact the mall like never before. The mall will be adding a three-level, 241,000-square-foot retail wing and parking garage to welcome in more high end retailers.Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Aventura Mall is one measly Mall of the America's away from breaking the record for largest mall.

Even if we leave Aventura Mall out of the equation, there's still something to say about Aventura Mall's boutique shopping scene. Town Center Aventura, a plaza south of the mall, is seeing movement as retailers like Tupelo Honey, Miami's 40-year-old luxury denim store, and Peace Love World move in, and Off of Saks fills a much needed void after Loehman's shuttered. Running errands is a cinch as well, with stores like Sports Authority and Target all located within a mile of each other on Biscayne.

There's much to say now about certain neighborhoods in Miami, however there's always been something to say about Aventura. The amount of brands and shopping experiences you can find within one mile, one roof, is astounding, making this neighborhood a one stop shop and thus, the best shopping neighborhood of the year.
· All Aventura Mall Coverage [Racked Miami]
· What is Miami's Best Shopping Neighborhood? [Racked Miami]
· Racked Awards [Racked Miami]