Dolphin Mall facts for kids
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| Location | Sweetwater, Florida |
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| Coordinates | 25°47′15″N 80°22′50″W / 25.7876°N 80.3806°W |
| Opening date | March 2001 |
| Developer | Taubman Centers |
| Owner | Taubman Centers |
| Architect | Beame Architectural Partnership, Miami |
| No. of stores and services | 240+ |
| No. of anchor tenants | 15 |
| Total retail floor area | 1,400,000 square feet (130,000 m2) |
| No. of floors | 2 |
| Parking | 7,800 free spaces |
Dolphin Mall is a huge shopping mall located in Sweetwater, Miami-Dade County, Florida. This city is just west of Miami. The mall has more than 240 stores. Many of these are famous brand-name discount stores.
The mall first opened its doors in March 2001. It was one of four new malls opened by Taubman Centers that year. Other malls opened by Taubman Centers in 2001 include The Shops at Willow Bend in Texas. They also opened International Plaza and Bay Street in Tampa, Florida. The fourth mall was The Mall at Wellington Green in Wellington, Florida.
Dolphin Mall is designed like other large outlet malls. It is similar to Sawgrass Mills, which is a big outlet mall in South Florida. Dolphin Mall has three special areas. These are called Playa (Beach), Ramblas (Boulevards), and Moda (Fashion). The mall is also divided into nine different zones.
With about 140,000 square meters of shopping space, it is the second-largest mall in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Because it is close to Florida International University, many students enjoy visiting the mall.
When the mall was first planned, it was going to be even bigger. The original plans included a roller coaster and more than 300 shops. However, the final design was smaller. It ended up with its current size and a 19-screen Cobb Theatres cinema. This cinema is on the second level in the "Ramblas" Zone.
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Cool Stores and Places to Visit
Dolphin Mall has many popular stores and attractions. Here are some of the main ones:
- Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World
- Bloomingdale's The Outlet Store
- Burlington Coat Factory
- Cobb Dolphin 19 Cinema
- Forever 21
- H&M
- Marshalls/HomeGoods
- Neiman Marcus Last Call
- Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5TH
- Old Navy
- Ross Dress for Less
- Sam Ash Music
- Dave & Buster's
- The Cheesecake Factory
- Texas de Brazil
- Victoria's Secret
Making the Mall Even Better
Taubman Centers announced plans to make Dolphin Mall even better. They added five new restaurants. They also improved the valet parking and added 900 new parking spaces. This big project started in mid-2014 and finished in Fall 2015.
Phase 1: Parking and Lights
The first part of the project was completed in November 2014. It added 360 new parking spaces. These were on the east side of the mall, near Forever 21. This phase also made the valet parking easier to use. New LED lights were added to the Ramblas Plaza area.
Phase 2: More Parking and Restaurants
The second part of the project began in January 2015. This phase added a new three-level parking garage. It created 857 more parking spaces. A second valet parking area was also added. The Ramblas Plaza was updated with new furniture and plants. It also got more LED lighting. Plus, a large new area for restaurants was built. This brought in five new places to eat. These included BRIO Tuscan Grille, Burger & Beer Joint, Cabo Flats Cantina & Tequila Bar, and Kona Grill.
