1674-10 Whitman Family 37 of 116, 2 Terms
mh FOR DEVELOPER, SUCCESS WAS IN THE BAG 03/23/1995
THE MIAMI HERALD
Copyright (c) 1995, The Miami Herald
DATE: Thursday, March 23, 1995 EDITION: FINAL
SECTION: NEIGHBORS MB PAGE: 2 LENGTH: 52 lines
ILLUSTRATION: photo: Estelle Spiegel with Betti Bernay and Norma Jean
Voss (a)
SOURCE/CREDIT LINE: GRACE LIM Herald Staff Writer
MEMO: see end of text for cutlines
FOR DEVELOPER, SUCCESS WAS IN THE BAG
BAL HARBOUR SHOPS
CELEBRATES 30 YEARS
Developer Stanley F. Whitman is a self-described optimist.
When naysayers told him that his vision of an upscale shopping mall in
Bal Harbour was doomed for failure, Whitman set out to prove them wrong.
Whitman's vision became the Bal Harbour Shops, which turned 30 Tuesday.
"I'm an optimist," Whitman said. "I think everything is going to be a
success."
Whitman smiled. "Not many people agreed with me, " he said. "They told me
it couldn't be done. They said, 'Put up an apartment building. ' "
On Tuesday, Whitman and his son, Randy, celebrated with cake along with
Bal Harbour Village Mayor Estelle Spiegel and about 60 women patrons of the
shops, 9700 Collins Ave. For the occasion, the guests were asked to
incorporate hats into their elegant attire.
Spiegel said Bal Harbour Shops put the village on the map. "When my
husband and I travel throughout the world and people say, 'Where is Bal
Harbour?' and I say, 'Have you heard of the Bal Harbour Shops?' and they say,
'Oh, yes. ' "
Longtime patron Sonja Zuckerman calls the Bal Harbour Shops her home away
from home. "You see everybody. You have lunch here, " she said. "It's fun to be
here even if you are not shopping."
The mall was constructed on the site of abandoned War World II Army
barracks, Whitman said.
For several years, the Whitmans lived in one of the barracks. A developer
converted the barracks into apartments and rented them out to eligible male
voters. "He needed 25 male voters to incorporate the village of Bal Harbour, "
Whitman said. "There was no village back then."
A couple decades later, Whitman came back to the 15-acre site and put up
the Bal Harbour Shops. He said back then, Lincoln Road Mall had seen its
heyday and was in decline. "There was a vacuum to be filled, and this did the
job," he said.
The shops began as a one-level, 30-store mall. Now it has two levels and
more than 100 stores, including anchors Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue.
Lauren Ansher said she was a fan of the shops from the very beginning.
"Everything I'm wearing is from this mall," said Ansher, who wore a pink
outfit with a matching pink hat. "It has gotten more prestigious and each year
it has gotten more and more beautiful."
CUTLINES:NURI VALLBONA / Herald Staff
HATS OFF: Betti Bernay, Norma Jean Voss and Bal Harbour Village Mayor