Bayside Marketplace (or simply Bayside) is an open-air shopping center and entertainment complex in Greater Downtown Miami, Florida, United States consisting of two retail structures: North Pavilion and South Pavilion. The complex is situated on the banks of Biscayne Bay, with the City of Miami marina on one side.Miami Trave Guide It was developed by the Rouse Company, a Columbia, Maryland-based real estate developer.
The mall opened in April 1987as a festival marketplace intended to save the city, initially featuring local businesses. , Bayside is owned and managed by the Ashkenazy Acquisition Corporation. After Bayside completed its renovations in November 2018, later additions included the Skyviews Miami Observation Wheel, alongside the PIER 5 nightclub venue, which opened in January 2024, featuring free live musical acts, cultural performances, and DJs frequently, alongside the flagship Rum Bar, and Black Market Miami on the second floor, replacing Hooters. Being adjacent to PortMiami has solidified the mall's status as a tourist attraction. The mall originally featured a flagship Hard Rock Cafe from September 1993until its permanent closure in August 2026.
History Background
In the 1970s and 1980s, Greater Downtown Miami experienced a significant decline characterized by high levels of crime, drug-related violence, and economic stagnation, leading to the city's infamous national reputation as a troubled and dangerous urban area. This heavy period of urban decay tempted city officials to initiate numerous revitalization efforts aimed at transforming the waterfront, restoring economic vitality to the core business district, and reversing Miami's character as a dangerous city. After World War II, people also began moving to the suburbs, wanting enclosed shopping centers over traditional local department stores. The bad state of Miami was encapsulated in the influential hit TV show Miami Vice, which ran from 1984to 1990.
1983–1987: Development and opening
The Rouse Company of Columbia, Maryland formed the Florida-based subsidiary Bayside Entertainment Company and began plans for Bayside Marketplace in 1983. The company selected the site, along of land near downtown Miami facing Biscayne Bay, to develop a festival marketplace shopping center, as akin to their successful flagships of the same model being Harborplace in Baltimore and Faneuil Hall Marketplace in Boston. Development had key involvement from city officials including then-mayor Xavier Suarez. The project cost $93million.
Bayside Marketplace had its grand opening on April 8, 1987, aiming to turn Miami into a tourist attraction. The marketplace was designed by Benjamin C. Thompson of Massachusetts as an open-air shopping center, mimicking the appearance of historical market sheds. Upon opening, it consisted of about of retail shops and restaurants between two different buildings, in addition to opening out to a marina called the Miamarina. The project was estimated upon opening to generate about 1,200jobs in the Miami area. The grand opening celebration featured live performances by the New World Pops Orchestra conducted by Peter Graves, a fireworks display, and a boat parade on Biscayne Bay.
It included a mix of retail and souvenir stores, restaurants, 77minority-owned businesses, and also included a space that featured local musical acts, and a food court on the second floor. Bayside Marketplace attracted over 12 million visitors in its first year of operation. However, the mall eventually fell $18million short in sales and two million visitors short once the novelty wore off.
1990–1997: Early years
The Rouse Company began shifting from locally owned businesses to national chains for financial reasons, and to boost traffic in the early 1990s. Wet Seal, looking to expand into the East Coast, would open at Bayside Marketplace in August 1990. Gap would open a location in the former Exit Store space in August 1991.
Hard Rock Cafe would have its grand opening celebration on September 21, 1993, featuring a massive guitar attached to its roof, numerous palm trees, and memorabilia from Elvis Presley. The restaurant would operate in the former Reflections space.
1997–2012: General Growth Properties (GGP) acquisition
Tenth-anniversary festivities in 1997included several concerts and tall ship arrivals, as well as a fireworks show. Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. would open at the complex in early March 1999. In the early 21st century, proposals were given by Miami-Dade County to link the mall to American Airlines Arena (now Kaseya Center) with a pedestrian bridge. By July 1, 2003, the plans had been modified to instead include a street-level crosswalk, as well as a public park adjacent to the arena.
The Rouse Company and its assets, including Bayside Marketplace, were acquired by the Chicago, Illinois-based General Growth Properties (GGP) in November 2004for $12.6billion. After Hurricane Wilma severely damaged the guitar on the top of the mall's Hard Rock Cafe on October 24, 2005, it was completely dismantled and removed from the structure, making it one of the only Hard Rock Cafes in the world without a rooftop guitar. Due to the Great Recession, Bayside Marketplace was so financially strapped that the City of Miami had to allow the mall to pay only half of its unpaid lease revenues by December 2008.
On March 2, 2009, GGP put Bayside up for sale to raise money, before ultimately filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on April 16of that year. By late January 2011, Largo Seafood & Grill opened in November 2010, alongside Del Sol, Subway, and Five Guys Burgers and Fries in December. Fat Tuesday relocated next to Hooters. On May 10, 2012, Mozzarella Grill, The Knife, Lombardi's Ristorante, Brawy Seafood, Kelly's Cajun Grill, Mambo Cafe, Latin American Cafeteria, and Che Pasta, which were all restaurants in the South Pavilion, were forced to close temporarily after health inspectors found rodent infestations. They reopened the following day, with Mambo Cafe and Latin American Cafe having the most violations.
2013–2019: Decline and renovation In December 2014, the New York-based Ashkenazy Acquisition Corporation acquired 49% of Bayside Marketplace's equity shares from GGP, and took over mall management, which went into effect on January 1, 2015. The property was supported by a $250million mortage fund specifically tied to execution phases for structural renovations and expansions. Shortly after taking over management, Ashkenazy and GGP immediately and aggressively evicted roughly 40long-term tenants.
The mass evictions caused Bayside Marketplace's once-bustling food court to lose popular eateries. It also failed to compete with new, modern competitors, such as the Miami Design District and Brickell City Centre. It was also seen as a tourist trap because it was seen as catering to cruise ship visitors and suburban visitors, which discouraged local repeat business. Plans for the nearby SkyRise Miami entertainment tower was cancelled because it faced legal challenges and funding issues, which resulted in the site where it was planned to be constructed on as a "wasteland."
It was announced in October 2014that the mall would undergo a $27million renovation by Ashkenazy and GGP, designed by the local architectural firm Zyscovich Architecture. Senior general manager Pam Weller made a deal that would allow of retail space and parking garages to be added to Bayside Marketplace, alongside investing in up to $35million in renovations, which was approved in August of that year.
An official launch ceremony was held on September 14, 2016, and construction began in October of that year. The renovations gave the mall a fresh and more modern look, through a brighter paint scheme, hurricane-resistant polyurethane roofs with LED lighting, a revamped tenant mix, and general modernization. GGP also increased its mortage for the renovation from $79million to $250million.
Neglect, maintenance issues, and eviction lawsuits (GGP and Ashkenazy)
On July 22, 2016, Fat Tuesday sued Bayside Marketplace LLC (a legal affiliate of GGP and Ashkenazy), claiming that they manufactured fake "cleanliness defaults" as leverage to increase their rent and force a relocation. , a GGP spokesperson revealed that the company no longer holds a stake in Bayside. By then, tenants were filing lawsuits against Ashkenazy for evictions and neglect between September 2016and September 2017, including Miami Waves, which countersued them and Bayside Marketplace LLC in the Miami-Dade Circuit Court on September 5, 2017, for using "improper and outrageous" tactics to force out local and regional retailers in favor of national brands. Bayside won the lawsuit on October 4. Sportive II accused the owners of trying to make them pay rent for a space that has been vacant for at least three years.
On October 8, 2013, Maki's Place signed a lease to open a sushi bar in Bayside Marketplace, but its opening was delayed by two years due to the renovations, leading to them to also file a counterclaim on March 15, stating that Bayside "only provided [them] ", decreasing the restaurant's seating capacity "by 35%." This ultimately made them close in November 2016. Kelly's Cajun Grill and Yeung's Lotus Express complained that the mall did not provide $100,000in construction allowance, failing to repair or provide restrooms, HVAC, and 30-year-old seating (which allowed homeless people to use them). On April 16, 2018, Ashkenazy filed even more lawsuits at Claire's and Envy for failing to leave by the January 2017deadline, and to Splash Perfumes and I Luv Miami for allegedly failing to pay rent.
By April 16, 2019, the affected restaurants retaliated at Ashkenazy, filing a countersuit by collaborating to form IRMG of Bayside, Inc. On March 27of that year, Miami-Dade Judge Alexander Boker rejected Bayside's attempt to dismiss the lawsuits filed by the evicted businesses. Gusto Pizzeria and Tango Grill also sued when Ashkenazy tried to evict them. The plaintiffs accused GGP (now owned by Brookfield Properties ) and Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp. for breach of contract (including broken promises during the renovation), and deteriorating conditions, including broken escalators and the exacerbation of HVAC failures.
2020s–present: Alien assumptions
Although the COVID-19 pandemic caused temporary tenant closures and social distancing restrictions to be implemented, including the permanent closure of the Hooters restaurant on March 17, 2020, Bayside Marketplace continued to expand, including the opening of Jimmy Buffett's LandShark Bar & Grill on July 6, 2020, and the addition of the Skyviews Miami Observation Wheel, which opened on October 28, 2020, towering 200 feet above the mall with 42climate-controlled gondolas offering panoramic views of Biscayne Bay and the downtown skyline. IT'SUGAR had a presence at Bayside during this period. Besides Hooters, Bayside Marketplace lost six additional tenants during the pandemic, including Sun & Sea Brazilian Bikinis.
Neglect, maintenance issues, and eviction lawsuits (continued) On July 8, 2020, Ashkenazy filed eviction lawsuits against Hard Rock Cafe, which owed $337,912, Shoe Palace, which has been a tenant since 2017and owed $131,801, U.S. Polo Assn., which owed $120,594and has been a tenant since 2014, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., which owed $107,280, and Express, which has been a tenant since 2013and owed $105,245. Landry's, Inc., the parent company of Bubba Gump, slammed the eviction filing as "unreasonable", arguing that trying to kick out businesses for an unprecedented global pandemic was "bad-faith management." The eviction lawsuit with HRC was officially dismissed with prejudice in 2022.