Bal Harbour in Brickell: Swire, Bal Harbour Shops to partner at CityCentre

Hong Kong-based Swire Properties and Bal Harbour Shops are partnering to develop the retail component of the Brickell CityCentre project in downtown Miami.

Swire’s CityCentre will include a 500,000-square-foot retail center as part of the 2.9 million-square-foot mixed-use project.

The deal comes as Bal Harbour Shops is already in the midst of an expansion, following its deal to acquire the nearby SunTrust Bank Building in Bal Harbour.

“We see Brickell CityCentre to be a strategic fit enabling us to meet the increasing demand for high-end brands by shoppers from all over town and, indeed, from all over the world,” said Matthew Whitman Lazenby, operating partner at Bal Harbour Shops, in a statement.

The greater Miami area’s retail competition has rapidly heated up over the past two years, highlighted by developer Craig Robins’ plans to turn the Design District into a luxury competitor to both the Bal Harbour Shops and the Aventura Mall.

But the business-oriented Brickell, which has seen office and residential growth out of the downturn, has not been involved in that surge until now — remaining largely bereft of high-end retail of any kind.

The $1.05 billion Brickell CityCentre broke ground in 2012.

It will also include two residential towers, a hotel, a wellness center, two office buildings and serviced (short or long-term furnished) apartments.

It is slated for completion in 2015.

The project has undergone another change, changing its spelling from Brickell CitiCentre to Brickell CityCentre.