The council, which is the county's nonprofit economic development partnership, spearheaded the effort to bring Trend here. "There were no economic incentives," Gonzalez tells GlobeSt.com. The site is within both an Enterprise Zone and an Empowerment Zone, which provides tax incentives. According to public records, the existing structure was built in 1960.

Trend was referred to the council by the Italy-America Chamber of Commerce and met with council representatives during a trip to Italy led by Lt. Gov. Toni Jennings a year ago. The council assisted Trend in site selection, marketing analysis and business contacts.

"Trend USA has made a significant investment to assist with the revitalization of one of our county's most important urban areas," says county commissioner Audrey Edmonson in a statement. "The decision…serves as another example of Miami-Dade's emergence as an international business center."

The area's international infrastructure and proximity to Latin America made Miami-Dade "the obvious location to headquarter our US operation," says Trend USA CEO Mark Johnson. "With our distribution to markets in the US, we felt that Miami-Dade County would be a perfect choice for continuing to expand our operations in the US while also tapping the Latin American market." Trend USA's products are currently sold to retailers, distributors, architects and interior designers from approximately 100 US showrooms.