Every retailer and restaurant operator wants a location that offers something the surrounding market doesn’t already have. In a region as competitive as South Florida, that edge is harder to find than ever. Sites with strong demographics tend to come with strong competition, and the places that feel genuinely different are usually already spoken for.
Research shows that people are naturally drawn to places near water, and often stay longer and return more frequently. Researchers call this connection “blue space,” and it is influencing how a new generation of mixed-use developments in Florida is designed. For restaurants, retailers and entertainment operators considering their next South Florida location, water can help create the memorable experience customers want. Miramar Cove is designed around that idea, with a 5.5-acre translucent blue water cove at the center of the destination.
Miramar Cove is a 125-acre waterfront mixed-use development in Miramar, Florida, offering approximately 400,000 square feet of retail, dining, and entertainment space. The project will serve nearly 477,000 residents and more than 137,000 employees within five miles.
What Is Blue Space, and Why Does It Matter for Retail?
Most people in real estate know the term “green space,” the parks, lawns, and tree cover that make a place more pleasant to be in. Blue space is the less familiar cousin. According to the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs at the University of Washington, blue spaces are natural or man-made outdoor settings that feature water, such as rivers, lakes, oceans, ponds, canals, urban fountains, or coves.
A decade of research suggests that spending time near water can support physical and mental well-being. Waterfront settings encourage people to walk, relax, socialize and enjoy outdoor recreation, which are all activities associated with lower stress. Even simply seeing water or hearing a fountain can create a sense of calm. Recent studies have also connected time spent near water with lower cortisol levels, greater happiness and better sleep.
For retailers and restaurant operators, the commercial opportunity is clear. A waterfront setting can turn a routine shopping or dining trip into an experience that attracts families and groups. That can mean longer visits, more spending across multiple businesses and stronger repeat traffic, the qualities that distinguish a true destination from a traditional shopping center.
How Blue Space Can Benefit Restaurants and Retailers
The connection between water and how people behave in a space is what makes blue space so relevant to the leasing conversation.
Think about how people experience a traditional shopping center compared with a waterfront destination. At a typical plaza, shoppers arrive for a specific errand and leave when it is done. A waterfront setting gives them more reasons to extend their visit. Dinner can become a full evening, with a gondola ride on the cove, a walk along the water beforehand, and dessert, drinks or entertainment afterward. Each additional stop creates another opportunity for restaurants and retailers to benefit from increased foot traffic and spending.
That behavior compounds across an entire district. When water anchors the environment, the whole setting encourages people to stay, wander, and spend time with the people they came with. For operators, longer visits and group outings can lead to higher spending and the repeat traffic needed to build a successful business during its early years and for years to come.
Miramar Cove Puts Water at the Center
This is what sets Miramar Cove apart from other mixed-use developments in South Florida. Water is not simply a decorative feature along the edge of the property, it is the heart of the destination and shapes the entire experience.
Nearly one-third of the 125-acre destination is dedicated to water, anchored by a 5.5-acre translucent blue water cove by Blue Mar Basins®. Restaurants and shops will sit directly along the shoreline, with a boardwalk at the water’s edge and gondolas gliding across the cove. A key differentiator for future retailers and restaurants will be Miramar Cove’s daily fountain shows featuring lights, music, and dancing water, a mesmerizing experience designed to keep visitors coming back. Beyond the basin, the site includes more than 40 acres of parks and open space, a five-mile network of walking paths, Founders Park, and a natural estuary with trails.
For a retail or restaurant tenant, that design is the difference between locating near an amenity and locating inside a destination. Visitors do not just glimpse the water from the parking lot on their way somewhere else. The water is why they come, and it is what keeps them there long enough to browse a second shop or stay for one more round.
For restaurant operators specifically, the setting opens up formats that are hard to find inland: waterfront patios that put outdoor dining right at the water’s edge, and rooftop space with views over the cove and the nightly fountain shows. These are the kinds of premium, experience-driven seating options that let a concept command a signature location and give guests a reason to choose it for a night out rather than a quick meal.
A Retail Opportunity Southwest Broward Has Not Had Before
Miramar Cove’s waterfront setting is even more compelling because of its location in Southwest Broward. While the area’s population and spending power have grown, residents and employees still have limited options for walkable dining, shopping and entertainment close to home and work. Nearly 477,000 people and more than 137,000 employees are within five miles of the site, including over 15,000 employees at the adjacent Miramar Park of Commerce. This affluent, active community has often had to travel east for the experiences Miramar Cove will bring closer to home.
Miramar Cove is designed to meet that demand where it lives. The project sits just off Florida’s Turnpike with access to I-75, drawing from Southwest Broward, North Miami-Dade, and South Palm Beach County. Hard Rock Stadium, minutes away, hosts more than 100 major events a year, feeding consistent regional traffic before and after games and concerts. With roughly 2,874 residences, about 400,000 square feet of retail, dining, and entertainment, 125,000 square feet of Class A office, and a 185-key hotel, the destination is built to generate steady, all-day foot traffic.
For operators, the combination is rare: strong demographics, regional access, a built-in daytime and residential customer base, and very little direct competition. But the real unlock is location. Until now, the blue space pull has been a coastal asset, available only to operators willing to pay coastal rents and compete in the region’s most saturated waterfront markets. Miramar Cove brings that same draw inland, to the heart of Southwest Broward’s spending power, where the customers already live and work and where a waterfront experience has never existed. Capturing the appeal of the water without the cost and competition of the coast is an opportunity this market has not offered before.
Why Waterfront Retail Destinations Attract Repeat Visits
The science of blue space confirms what the best operators sense intuitively: environment shapes behavior. People linger longer near water; they come to socialize, and they come back. Those are the fundamentals of a healthy retail and restaurant business, and at Miramar Cove they are designed into the site rather than left to chance.
For retailers and restaurant operators looking to enter or expand in South Florida, Miramar Cove offers something the market has never made available: the commercial pull of the water, in an underserved and affluent inland market, away from the saturation and cost of the coast.
FAQ
Where is Miramar Cove located?
Miramar Cove is a 125-acre mixed-use development in Miramar, Florida, with convenient access to Florida’s Turnpike and I-75. It is positioned to serve Southwest Broward, North Miami-Dade and the broader South Florida market.
How much retail space will Miramar Cove offer?
Miramar Cove will include approximately 400,000 square feet of retail, dining and entertainment space, along with 2,874 residences, 125,000 square feet of Class A office space and a 185-key hotel.
What types of businesses can lease space at Miramar Cove?
Miramar Cove is seeking restaurants, retailers and entertainment concepts that can contribute to a walkable, waterfront destination. The project offers opportunities for businesses looking to reach residents, employees and regional visitors.
What makes Miramar Cove different from other South Florida retail developments?
Nearly one-third of Miramar Cove is dedicated to water. Its 5.5-acre cove, waterfront dining, boardwalk, parks, walking paths and dancing fountain shows are designed to give visitors reasons to stay longer and return frequently.
Who will Miramar Cove serve?
Nearly 477,000 residents and more than 137,000 employees are located within five miles, including more than 15,000 employees at the adjacent Miramar Park of Commerce.
Who should retailers contact about leasing at Miramar Cove?
To inquire about retail, restaurant or entertainment space at Miramar Cove, contact Edmee Morin-Collins at (954) 450-7900 or emorin@wsvn.com
Explore Retail and Restaurant Leasing at Miramar Cove
Interested in opening a restaurant, retail store or entertainment concept in Southwest Broward? Contact the Miramar Cove leasing team to request leasing information, review available opportunities, or discuss your concept. Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news.
