Matthew Whitman Lazenby

Bal Harbour Shops has remained one of the most recognizable names in luxury shopping since it opened in 1965. The open-air mall, located north of Miami Beach just one block from the shore, is home to exclusive brands such as Chanel, Goyard, Prada and most recently Loewe. 

Part of the success can be attributed to Whitman Family Development’s nimbleness and long-term planning. The fourth-generation owner is constantly reconfiguring the 18-acre Bal Harbour property to accommodate tenants, who want to either downsize or upsize, while also looking to expand and update the mall. 

Last year, the Miami Beach-based owner secured an additional $190 million from Blackstone, which brought the total debt up to $740 million, to complete a 250,000-square-foot expansion that’s scheduled to open in the next 14 months. 

Now the company is getting ready for its most daring expansion yet. It has filed plans to add 275-foot-tall mixed-use towers to the mall, using Florida’s developer-friendly Live Local Act. Perhaps most controversially, the expansion would bring workforce housing to the uber-luxury mall, which the law calls for. 

“We’ve always envisioned to have a compelling mixed-use village center that is more than just a place to buy handbags, but also would potentially include a hotel, residences and potentially an office as well,” said Matthew Whitman Lazenby. 

The plan has infuriated the Bal Harbour municipal government, and the two parties are duking it out in court, but Whitman Family Development has the runway to wait it out as a family-run, private business. “I’m focused on 10 years from now, not 10 weeks,” Whitman Lazenby said.