With the sales launch of Aventura ParkSquare, Miami developer Integra Investments is betting the next big thing in South Florida mixed-used is going to be health and wellness. The project is a “fit city” designed by urbanist Bernard Zyscovich based on Active Design Guidelines, a manual published by the NYC Health Department to promote physical activity and combat obesity.

Aventura’s best known these days for shopping, but Integra principal Victor Ballestas tells us the project will create a sense of place with its health activities, besides the more standard entertainment, dining and nightlife options. Ultimately, the project will include a 131-unit luxury condo tower; 55k SF of retail space complete with upscale boutiques and restaurants; a hotel; a 100k SF office building with outdoor event space; and a 45k SF wellness medical center with specialty healthcare tenants.

The design fosters the use of stairways instead of elevators to encourage natural fitness, with stairways in clear sight and in central locations on the property, and it promotes walking rather than driving, with extra-wide sidewalks and landscaping to provide shade and rain protection. There’s green space to bring people outdoors, specific programming such as community yoga to keep fitness top-of-mind, and space for vegetable gardening to encourage healthy eating.