Designing Craig

"You know, to get major firms to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to build down here is really challenging," he says. Does the reputation of Craig Robins, swell South Beach developer help bring such firms into the district? According to Robins, you betcha. "It's about having a plan that will work, having a reputation for making things work, and having a certain enthusiasm that people will trust, and aspire to," he declares.

Tony Goldman is reserving judgment on his friend's bold move. He sees Craig Robins as a great visionary and dealmaker, but making the deal is just the beginning. "[The Design District] is an interesting play," he says. "The question is -- and I haven't been there enough to know -- How much of Craig's time is devoted to the street level, the street merchants, street life? It'll take a personal commitment of time, and a physical presence in the area."

Robins estimates that the Design District is about a third of the way there. The next step: Double the size of the "critical mass" -- even more design tenants. "Then the mix of what's here will become so unbelievable, the design community won't even think of going anywhere else," he declares. "With that will come some of the other components that will make it a really fun place: the residents, the food-and-beverage operations. The third phase will be a lot of new construction and additions."

Still the Design District remains surrounded on three sides by considerable urban blight. Kevin Arrow, whose family once operated a business in the district, suggests the only way to ensure the the area's future would be to build a wall around it. "I hope people aren't just blindly going over there thinking it's a nice safe environment like South Beach, because it's not -- yet," Arrow cautions.

Even Robins can't aim his laser pointer at a target date for the completion of the turnaround in the district, or when the encircling neighborhoods might start to revive. Mayor Kasdin calls the move a huge gamble, one that might well have precipitated Craig's break with Scott.

"Craig has grandiose designs; he wants to be nationally recognized," Kasdin says. "He's very ambitious, and that entails taking big risks. Scott, I think, was more or less content with what he had [on South Beach]. There was a difference in philosophy: Scott wanted to stay local, Craig wanted to go national.