MIAMI—Miami's Health District is seeing an influx of private and public investment for the first time in decades. One of the largest developments so far is River Landing Shops and Residences. Currently in pre-construction, River Landing will include a multilevel retail shopping center and multifamily units.  

GlobeSt.com caught up with Andrew Hellinger, CEO of River Landing Development, to find out more about the project and why he's betting on Miami's Health district in part one of this exclusive interview. Be sure to come back to this afternoon's Miami edition for part two.

GlobeSt.com: Tell me about River Landing and how it fits into Miami's commercial real estate scene?

Hellinger: River Landing Shops and Residences is a mixed-use development designed to attract national and regional retailers, shops and restaurants to Miami's Health District. The area is the second-largest health district in the United States and one of Miami's largest employment hubs.

The 8.14-acre River Landing will total 2 million square feet and provide 426,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, 475 market-rate apartments, more than 2,200 parking spaces and a linear waterfront park on the Miami River. River Landing will be a catalyst for new development in the district.

It will also activate the riverfront offering entertainment, shopping, dining and living along its shores. River Landing will anchor the nascent Miami River District to the west with Downtown Miami anchoring the river district to the east.

GlobeSt.com: Private and public investment has avoided that area of Miami for decades.  Why are you so bullish on the Health District?

Hellinger: More than 46,000 full-time workers and medical school students as well as 160,000 yearly visitors converge on the district to work, study, and visit our world-class hospitals and research institutes. Yet, the area is extremely underserved when it comes to retail and market-rate apartments.

There are two factors that make us feel bullish about this location: One, people are increasingly interested in living near their jobs, especially Millennials. Two, the Health District has one of the largest concentrations of purchasing power and brainpower in South Florida.

The district generates in employment payroll $1.9 billion within a one-mile radius of River Landing.  Within a three-mile radius, the consumer-buying power reaches $8.8 billion. All the area needs is a shopping and dining destination to become a full-service community, where professionals, locals and visitors can shop, play, and live.

We are also bullish because, for the first time in decades, we are seeing private and public investment target the area. As land values in the Miami's east corridor have increased significantly and the area become too dense, growth and expansion is moving towards the Health District, which lies directly west of Brickell and Downtown Miami.

Public investment is transforming the Health District. For example, Jackson Health System is remodeling Jackson Memorial Hospital and other facilities in the district thanks to an $830 million voter-approved bond. At the same time, the Miami-Dade County Commission is considering bringing a soccer stadium to this community.

All this new attention to the area is causing land values in the Health District and along the Miami River to reach new heights due to demand. That shows we am not the only one feeling bullish about the Health District.