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Stephen Bittel Announces Incredible Lineup for Holiday Shopping Trips Near Miami

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THE POINT NEWS — DECEMBER 16, 2020 — It’s that time of year again—the time where everyone is looking to purchase gifts for the people they love. It can be a challenging time, especially for those who have just about everything or don’t ask for a lot. Small shops provide an advantage to find unique gifts, while also supporting the local families in a more direct way.

This holiday season, you should consider supporting as many local shops as you can swing for your Christmas gifting list.

During the most wonderful time of the year, there is a lot to be said for local shopping. As Floridians prepare for the holiday season, Terranova’s Founder Stephen Bittel has announced the exciting addition of 18 new shops and restaurants in the Coral Gables and Miami Beach areas between now and 2021. Some have signed extensive leases and others are just popping up for a few months.

These locations bring so much to the community—providing two fabulous places to shop and explore during the holidays.

Throughout Miami, from Coral Gables to Miami Beach, you will find so many incredible things to do. You can certainly spend an entire day shopping to make this holiday bright. Here is a holiday list of some of the best things to do (and eat) along Miracle Mile and Lincoln Road this holiday season.

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Lincoln Road pop-up

Pre-holiday pop-up shops bring new life to Lincoln Road – and fill empty spaces

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MIAMI HERALD — SEPTEMBER 28, 2020 — BY REBECCA SAN JUAN Lincoln Road is getting a trio of new pop-up shops.

To help small businesses and fill a growing number of retail vacancies, the Lincoln Road Business Improvement District has launched a pre-holiday pop-up program. So far, three small business owners have signed leases.

The Lincoln Road BID approved the program in early September. Retailers submit an application for a 90-day lease, said Tim Schmand, BID executive director. Schmand reviews applications and connects applicants with landlords. Lease rates are often less than the going price for annual contracts.

The BID is aiming to fill vacant storefronts before the holiday season. Although Lincoln Road signed several new retailers last year, occupancy rates have dropped by 8% since December 2019, from 82% to 74%, Schmand said. Of its total 250 storefronts, about 60 spaces are empty.

“The goal of the program is to get interesting, cutting-edge retailers onto Lincoln Road. If we get four interesting retailers on Lincoln Road, then that’s a home run,” Schmand said.

Some landlords are charging less for pop-ups than the current average asking rates. Stephen Bittel, chairman and founder of Terranova and owner of several commercial spaces on Lincoln Road, is asking for about $80 per square foot for short-term leases versus $250 per square foot for annual contracts.

“It pays for the operation costs but we make no profit,” Bittel said. “[But] if the tenant wanted to enter in a long-term lease, we could extend the pop-up for the next 90 days. Our goal is to keep the street as occupied as possible.”

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To fill vacant stores, Lincoln Road seeks pop-up businesses

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MIAMI TODAY — SEPTEMBER 2, 2020 — BY KYLEA HENSELER
Cultural institutions and new retail shops may find temporary homes on Lincoln Road this winter, as the Lincoln Road Business Improvement District is hoping to bring in a series of pop-ups to boost business and fill vacancies. 

The improvement district’s executive committee has unanimously voted to support and promote pop-ups during the upcoming season.

“We’re looking to work with local cultural organizations that may want a space on Lincoln Road during the holidays,” Timothy Schmand, the committee’s executive director, told Miami Today last week. Additionally, he said, the committee would like to work with retailers, including clicks-to-bricks stores that operate primarily online and want to try out a physical space.

According to Mr. Schmand, site occupancy on Lincoln Road is currently around 74%.

“We have empty storefronts,” improvement district Vice President Lyle Stern told the committee Aug. 20, “(and) I think we have to use the opportunity right now to fill every single vacancy we can on Lincoln Road this year.”

“We as a group,” he continued, “should encourage all of our owners to make (vacancies) available for appropriate – and we’ll have to define appropriate – vendors to come to Lincoln Road and occupy this space subject to some conditions.”

The committee would have to discuss these conditions, Mr. Stern said, which could include requiring a security deposit or insurance policy.

“I think it’s a great idea,” said Mindy McIlroy, committee treasurer and president of real estate firm Terranova. “Terranova has done a lot of work on this already – we have been actively soliciting for fashion boutiques for our vacancies to fill our spaces from October through January. Just to your point, we want to have a very active holiday shopping season.”

Retailers in the fashion industry, she added, may have a lot of inventory as few people shopped for spring and summer styles this year. 

Indeed, Terranova’s founder and Chairman Stephen Bittel told Miami Today that the corporation plans to target local and regional retailers and is already communicating with two possible short-term tenants: a plant store and a vintage boutique.

To boost business and bring people back to the street, he continued, Terranova is willing to be “uniquely flexible” when it comes to rent. At the height of business, Mr. Bittel said, rental rates were in the $300s per square foot per month. Now, he said, these rents are in the $200s, and for short-term rentals his company is talking to some tenants about making rent “the cost of occupancy plus a percentage of sales.”

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