Wynwood retail sees major shifts

Wynwood store owners are seeing a dramatic shift in the retail scene as the vibrant Miami neighborhood sprouts new construction projects, including residential buildings, apartments, commercial spaces and an increase in rent.

Mariano Diaz is the owner of Wynwood Soul, an art and clothing store at 2301 NW Second Ave.

“We are going through the worst time period in retail sales in Wynwood since the last five years probably … everything is going down, downhill very fast for a lot of retail stores,” Mr. Diaz said. “Most of them are actually disappearing.”

Pointing to the factors affecting retail, he said he noticed that rental rates have been getting higher over the past five years and the neighborhood hasn’t been getting its usual tourists from states and cities up north like Chicago, Boston and New York.

“The tourism is not coming, is not showing up in Wynwood,” Mr. Diaz said. “We don’t have the tourists from the North … and they usually are the ones that give a lot of life to Wynwood because they’re the spenders, to put it in some way – you know, they spend money when they come here, but they are not here anymore.”

However, he said he thinks the main problem is high rent costs.

“The landlords increased their rents dramatically in the past five years. More than 50% in some of the cases,” Mr. Diaz said.

Development in Wynwood also plays a role, according to Mr. Diaz, who said it directly affects the essence of the art district: the graffiti.

“What happened is that people used to come to Wynwood because we have a great place for art and graffiti on the walls and, you know, things like that, and right now there’s no more walls,” he said. “They’re showing up with these super high-end buildings in the area, unaffordable, for people that want to live here in the area… In one way it’s great, you know, you see a lot of progress, but they definitely killed the vibe of Wynwood.”

Wynwood Soul’s sales have declined about 50% over the past five years.

“You know, we’re pretty much surviving right now,” he said.

Diana Gonzalez owns a gift shop that offers merchandise and collaborates with artists, Wynwood Shop, at 181 NW 25th St. She said construction in the neighborhood has caused interruptions and Wynwood Walls’ transition to a ticket model has deterred visitors.

“I mean, there has been a lot of construction,” she said, “so having Second Avenue close several times, or not having electricity while they’re installing tubes or water ducts and things like that, it just kind of interrupts a lot of the flow. I also feel like the Wynwood Walls, after they started charging for the entrance, that has been a little bit discouraging for people to browse Wynwood.”

Ms. Gonzalez said her sales have fluctuated but overall declined roughly more than 50% in the span of a year. There’s also a worker shortage as a result.

“Bottom line, a lot of the stores are, us owners, are kind of working the store front, so it’s just been reducing and reducing costs. Also, we’re not able to employ anybody,” she said.

Mr. Diaz said he would like to see work to conserve the graffiti that attracted many people beyond Wynwood Walls.

“I guess that we need more help from the [Business Improvement District] and the city, pay more attention to this great spot which is Wynwood, and do something about it,” he said. “We need them.”