Retail Thrives Near Mixed-Use Miami Districts

Panelists at The Real Deal's Miami Forum said shops perform best alongside residential, office, and hotel uses.

Updated on Nov. 5, 2026 in Commercial

Vector editorial illustration of a compact stacked cluster of residential, shop, and hotel forms in warm coral, teal, and mustard, illustrating mixed-use retail. — Panelists at The Real Deal's Miami Forum said retail shops perform best alongside residential, office, and hotel uses, with Michael Comras developing NoLi Lane. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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At a panel held at The Real Deal's Miami Forum and moderated by TRD reporter Francisco Alvarado, executives discussed how retail properties fare in Miami. Panelists said shops perform better near a mix of residential, office and hotel uses rather than in isolation.

Why it matters

Residences alone do not create the critical mass needed for a retail district to stay active through most of the day, especially on weekday mornings, according to Zach Winkler of JLL. With urban pricing rising, companies are also looking at suburban markets with strong customer bases.

Lincoln Road asking rents dropped from a 2016 high of $325 per square foot to $150 to $225 per square foot a decade later. Panelists did not say whether that decline will reverse as nearby mixed-use development grows.

The players

Michael Comras

Founder and CEO of Comras Company, the developer behind the Cocowalk redevelopment and the NoLi Lane project on Lincoln Road.

Zach Winkler

South Florida executive managing director of retail brokerage at JLL, a commercial real estate services firm.

Brett Damato

Chief operating officer of Pura Vida Miami, a Miami-based restaurant chain expanding across the tri-county area.

The details

Michael Comras, founder and CEO of Comras Company, said he is developing NoLi Lane, a 150,000-square-foot adaptive reuse project at 723 Lincoln Road with 40 small spaces, and previously redeveloped Cocowalk in Coconut Grove with Federal Realty and Grass River Property. Brett Damato, COO of Miami-based restaurant chain Pura Vida Miami, said the chain is expanding across the tri-county area and has a successful location in the Loews Hotel at 1601 Collins Avenue in South Beach.

The panel was held on a Wednesday at The Real Deal's Miami Forum.
Lincoln Road rents peaked at $325 per square foot in 2016 and had fallen to $150 to $225 per square foot a decade later.

Market Landscape

Lincoln Road rents fell from a 2016 high of $325 per square foot to $150 to $225 a decade later, a drop that shows how far the corridor has moved from its peak. Developers and brokers now point to mixed-use blocks with residential, office and hotel traffic as the model for sustaining retail as urban pricing climbs.

Shoppers and tenants should expect retail activity in Miami to cluster around mixed-use blocks with residential, office and hotel traffic rather than standalone storefronts. Those looking for commercial space may find more availability and lower asking rents on corridors such as Lincoln Road than at the 2016 peak.

The takeaway

Retail sites that sit within reach of residents, office workers and hotel guests tend to draw steadier foot traffic across the day. Owners and shoppers alike should weigh that mix when judging where retail is likely to hold up.