Doral’s Westend Shopping Center unveils its new expansive courtyard
DORAL, FL – Doral’s Westend Shopping Center continues expanding its operation with a new sprawling 7,617 square foot courtyard space that will serve as a multifunctional area, complete with outdoor seating, a beautiful weeping cherry tree that serves as a centerpiece and more.
After successfully operating its center for 21 years, Westend of Miami Shopping Center, located at 2600 NW 87 Avenue in Doral, opened to the public one of the few courtyards in the city that has a covered terrace to provide for more open-air space and allow for more visitors.
The Grand Opening of Westend’s new courtyard, took place on Saturday, April 17th, which featured a ribbon cutting ceremony with City of Doral Mayor, Juan Carlos Bermúdez.
“We are thrilled to be able to usher in Westend’s new sprawling courtyard space. The new addition adds to the overall beautification of Doral, and is part of the city’s ongoing efforts to beautify Doral so that everyone can enjoy wide open spaces and our city can continue to rank as one of the best cities to live in the United States,” said Mayor Juan Carlos Bermudez.
City of Doral Council members Claudia Mariaca, Digna Cabral and Oscar Puig were also present at the event alongside Westend Shopping Center Mall Managing Director, Silvia J Fernandez.
“The new courtyard is intended to make Westend more “family friendly” and allow for additional open-air public spaces that are environmentally friendly that the whole community can enjoy,” said Silvia J Fernandez.
According to her, the City’s ongoing support was key to make this extended courtyard possible especially during COVID times. “We had the opportunity to work with the Mayor and that helped us a lot. I’m very grateful to him because he took the time to understand my vision and what I wanted to do with the space. We didn’t plan to launch a new installation during a pandemic, but it worked and I’m happy for that.”
Now, Doral residents will see her vision in motion: A place to have a good time with friends and family that feels so nice that people come back over and over again. But it’s a “work in progress” as Fernandez says, because more things are to come to the mall in the near future.
The award-winning Westend Shopping Center, where the new open-air courtyard resides, consists of 34 units with an almost 100 percent occupancy, where there is a family-friendly atmosphere that is felt not only from the customers that arrive, but also from the center’s tenants that share a special bond.
“Our businesses have become almost like a family and that is precisely what I try to instill in the tenants. I believe from this notion, they can support each other more and work better as a community,” said Fernandez to Doral Family Journal.
This particular view of the shopping mall is what motivated Fernandez to be strict when it comes to avoiding competition. “If I put the businesses to compete amongst each other, that is not going to benefit neither the management or operation of the mall, so we are very strict about that. We want everyone to succeed in parallel.”
With this in mind, Westend continued thriving even during a devastating pandemic in which many local businesses around Doral and the Miami area didn’t survive.
“When the coronavirus hit our community, I knew I had to support my tenants in any way possible, because they are essential to me. It was then when I contacted the bank requesting their support and it was granted to me. We are very lucky because most of our businesses are still operating and achieving their goals.”
Currently Doral’s Westend Shopping Center includes an excellent tenant mix that includes: Born Barbers Doral, Eparepa, Golf Pro Shop, K & K Dental, Sabor Havana Cigars, Sushi Sake and more.
Westend Shopping Center has an easy access to all major thoroughfares and to Miami International Airport and is in close proximity to residential communities, hotels, banks, office parks, retail centers, malls and industrial complexes. Along with the new courtyard area, additional upcoming upgrades underway will include that to the signage and other common spaces.
Located right off of 87th avenue, Westend is located in the thriving city of Doral that is home to more than 150,000 employees; 50 financial institutions and 23 hotels; Fortune 500 companies and Government headquarters, such as Carnival Cruise Lines, Hellman Worldwide Logistics, Federal Reserve Bank, Walmart, US Southern Command, Amadeus and Univision to name a few.