CRAIG ROBINS
PRESIDENT & CEO, DACRA, MIAMI
Robins has been a transformative force in two of Miami’s most popular neighborhoods for residents and tourists alike.
In 1987, at 24, Robins founded his real estate company, Dacra, focused on creating landmark commercial, residential and mixed-use developments that integrate art, design and architecture. Over the years, particularly in the late 1980s and ‘90s, the Miami native developed more than 2 million square feet in South Beach’s Art Deco District and Lincoln Road, including preserving historic hotels on Ocean Drive and creating the new-urbanist residential community Aqua on Allison Island.
In recent years, Robins spearheaded the transformation of Miami’s Design District from a hodgepodge of abandoned warehouses to a luxury shopping enclave featuring the world’s top brands. The 18-square-block neighborhood is now a hub for fashion, retail, restaurants and a range of creative businesses. Robins, who owns most of the Design District with partner L Catterton Real Estate, a subsidiary of Louis Vuitton parent company LVMH, recently won zoning approval for a 36-story tower, likely a mix of office space and a hotel, that will serve as the signature “gateway” to the district. “I’ve always been interested in the built environment and how architecture and design come together to create community,” he said in the South Florida Business Journal.
An art lover and collector, Robins owns the Design Miami and Basel fairs in partnership with the producers of Art Basel and is the founder and chairman of the Anaphiel Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to supporting arts education and exploration. He has donated more than 200 works from his large collection of modern and contemporary art to the Perez Art Museum Miami, where he is a trustee.