Lincoln Road's Holiday Calendar Has Firmer Dates Than Its New Storefronts
At 530 Lincoln Road, a 14,284-square-foot Uniqlo is a week from opening. The company's store page lists the grand opening as November 12. In June, Community Newspapers reported that it would be the retailer's first public street-front store in Florida. Of the new tenants announced for the promenade this year, it is the only one with a printed opening day that falls inside the holiday season.
The rest of the street's season is set by its public calendar. Between now and the end of December, New World Symphony, the City of Miami Beach's free film series and the Sunday market all have fixed dates. They hold up better than the leasing pipeline, and better than the performance space still being finished on Drexel Avenue, which no published calendar lists yet.
The June announcement was ambitious. Community Newspapers reported more than 70,000 square feet of new and upcoming retail, dining, wellness and entertainment concepts. The same report noted that the Lincoln Road Business Improvement District had started a new 10-year term that runs through 2035. Lyle Stern, the BID's president, told the outlet that "Lincoln Road is experiencing one of the most exciting periods of growth and reinvestment in its recent history."
Four months later, the BID's directory shows where each of those names stands:
The one June name with a confirmed arrival is Edikted, the fashion store at 901 Lincoln Road. It opened that month. Two other projects were reported separately. Miami New Times reported that Balan's was set to reopen at 1022 Lincoln Road on September 17. The same outlet's fall preview listed Ukiyo at 818 Lincoln Road as expected in mid-October.
Construction has made more visible progress than leasing. The City's $29.4 million Lincoln Road upgrade is in its second phase, with work on two cross streets.
On Meridian Avenue, between 17 Street and Lincoln Lane South, work started in January. The City's project page says completion is expected "before year end." Staged sidewalk work on both sides of the avenue began July 21.
On Drexel Avenue, between Lincoln Road and Española Way, the project's September 10 update described a contractor close to the end:
"In September the contractor is working toward finishing the project."
The same bulletin listed the remaining work. It included the circular planters near the roundabout between Lincoln Road and Lincoln Lane South, a rebuilt crosswalk at Lincoln Lane North, new signals and pavers at Drexel and 16 Street, and "the seating steps and planters around the new electrical room on Lincoln Road."
Those seating steps are the reason the Drexel block matters for the holidays. The City's project page describes a small amphitheater with integrated seating steps at Lincoln Road and Drexel Avenue. Its electrical room is there "to support community events and cultural programming." The BID says the design draws on Morris Lapidus's MiMo style and adds expanded café seating, new paving and lighting. The space is designed for performances, but no published calendar names it as a venue yet. The BID's draft holiday schedule does include a December 2 entry at "Drexel Plaza," though the entry does not say it will use the amphitheater.
With storefronts and the amphitheater still unsettled, the most dependable plans come from three sources, all within a block of the promenade.
New World Symphony WALLCAST concerts at SoundScape Park, a block north of Lincoln Road, are scheduled for November 21, December 12 and December 19. The December 19 program, "Sounds of the Season," starts at 7:30 p.m.
SoundScape Cinema, the City's free film series, is in its 17th season. Screenings start at 8 p.m. in the same park. The City's events calendar lists Wednesdays November 11, 18 and 25 and December 9. The City has announced "Elf" for December 23.
The Lincoln Road Farmers Market runs every Sunday between Washington and Meridian avenues. That makes eight more market days this year: November 8, 15, 22 and 29, and December 6, 13, 20 and 27. It opens at 9 a.m. The BID's own schedule lists a 5 p.m. close, and its Eventbrite listing says 6 p.m.
The rest of the season comes from a working schedule attached to the BID's September 15 executive committee agenda. The document says it is subject to change at the board's and staff's discretion. These are the dates as drafted:
Read together, the two calendars put three Saturdays at the top of the season.
On November 21, the tree lighting at Euclid Oval runs from 6 to 9 p.m., the same night as the season's first WALLCAST at SoundScape Park. On December 12, the Student Holiday Showcase at Euclid Folly runs from 6 to 8 p.m., and another WALLCAST is scheduled a block north. On December 19, SoBe Jazz on the BID calendar runs from 7 to 9 p.m., and "Sounds of the Season" begins at 7:30 p.m. in the park.
The weekday anchor is Wednesday. A SoundScape Cinema screening falls on November 18, the same day as the BID's morning art reveal. On December 2, the evening swim show at Drexel Plaza ends at 8 p.m., which is when SoundScape films usually begin, although the City's calendar does not list a screening that night.
The stores fit into this calendar where they can. Uniqlo opens on Thursday, November 12, the day after a Wednesday screening and 24 days before the Hanukkah festival at Euclid Avenue.
For readers who want to know how the new Meridian and Drexel streetscapes and this year's leasing will shape the blocks around Lincoln Road over the next few years, Mark Yaffe follows these projects closely and keeps that conversation private. Work With Mark.
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