After publishing our recent post on the Esplanade at Aventura, an outdoor shopping center that to the average person could appear to be an expansion of Aventura Mall, the Big Bubble got an earful from various public relations representatives about how, in fact, the Esplanade is in fact no way connected with the mall, and is merely “near” it. So, the Big Bubble went back to take another look. In fact, walking from the mall, owned by Turnberry, to the Esplanade, owned by Seritage Growth Properties, is an absolute pain, despite the fact that there appear to be some architectural linkages that are quite obviously cut off. First, and most obvious, is the dead-end where the entrance to Sears, the former occupant of the Esplanade site, used to be. Right now, it’s closed off, creating a rather awkward wall where mall massages are offered. Rather than connecting with the Esplanade, when asked what would eventually go there, a publicist declined to reply. Secondly, this path behind the restaurant Joey Aventura appears to be fully completed and pointing directly at a current Aventura Mall entrance but is quite clearly being cut off by bushes. Why, Turnberry, why?

This schematic shows just how close the Esplanade and the mall are to each other, with the Esplanade at Aventura in yellow.

This gateway, at the heart of the Esplanade site, roughly aligns with the old Sears entrance inside the mall, currently a dead-end, and could likely be connected to it fairly easily.

Here, a bank of escalators behind construction fencing appears to be the only location where an entrance to the Esplanade will be convenient for mall patrons, just off the mall’s current piazza.

Finally, sharing a party wall, the two structures are in reality much closer to each other than just “nearby.”