If you’re looking for more shopping in Kendall, a new center is in the works
You may think Kendall is filled to capacity with shops and restaurants. Not yet.
What’s now a giant plot of grass will soon be home to a new shopping center that serves residents of Kendall West and The Hammocks, and anyone else passing through the area.
The Shops at Kendall Town Center is being developed by MMG Equity Partners, a Miami firm founded by the owners of the Navarro Discount Pharmacy chain. The retail complex will make up the middle five acres of the overall mixed-use Kendall Town Center project.
The shopping complex will rise at the intersection of Kendall Drive and Southwest 158th Avenue, after an expected closing by late 2026. MMG expects to begin construction of the 36,000-square-foot retail center and adjacent open-air terrace in early 2027.
“The demand from the tenants and from the neighboring community for the type of concepts that we’re bringing is there,” said partner Marcos Puente of MMG Equity Partners. “It’s extremely strong, and there’s nothing like it on the market.”
The firm is negotiating leases for spots in The Shops, with around half of those places to eat and drink, said Managing Partner Gabriel Navarro. Companies already signed up for the out-parcels include Raising Cane’s, Chase Bank and El Car Wash.
In addition to the stores and restaurants, the developers are planning an outdoor garden as the focal point of Kendall Town Center.
Puente said the company envisions the center as a central gathering place and a place to shop close to home.
For Isabella Perez, who lives near Kendall Royal, her current options include a 30-minute trek to Dadeland or Dolphin Mall to get that full shopping experience. When she wants to stay close to West Kendall, Perez does her shopping at smaller nearby centers, but said a bigger space would help.
When she learned of the proposed retail center 10 minutes from her home, she said, “That’s perfect, I love that. I’ve been waiting for this for the longest time.”
MMG has worked in the Kendall West area in the past, with shopping locations that include Kendall Corners and Bird West Plaza.
“All of us effectively grew up in the Kendall area, plus or minus a few miles maybe,” said Puente of the firm. “This is home for us.”
The area is set to be home for many more people now.
In addition to the new retail, the 70-acre Kendall Town Center includes apartment developments, an expansion of Baptist Hospital and the construction of a new school, which the developers say will draw people from elsewhere.
“More people, more traffic, yay,” Perez said. “But Kendall actually needed that, so I’m not mad.”
Puente said the nearby residents, a “captive audience,” can walk to the new shopping complex, so he doesn’t expect more traffic to be a major issue.
