Project Team
Owner: The Forbes Co. and Taubman Centers, both of Farmington Hills, Mich.
Contractor Manager: Hardin Construction Co., Orlando
Architect: JPRA Architects, Farmington Hills, Mich.

Situated at the southeast corner of Interstate 4 and Conroy Road in Orlando, the new Mall at Millenia will bring the first Bloomingdale's, Nieman Marcus and a 250,000-sq.-ft. Macy's to the market area. In addition, the upscale mall houses approximately 150 other specialty stores and retailers.

The $71 million, 1.2-million-sq.-ft. luxury mall was designed by JPRA Architects, and developed by a joint venture of The Forbes Co. and Taubman Centers Inc. Hardin Construction Co., with offices in Orlando and Tampa, served as the prime contractor overseeing construction.

While Hardin Construction has extensive experience constructing malls, the Mall at Millenia was like no other shopping mall to construct, the company stated. The level of finishes and materials on this project were well above standard, resulting in extremely high tolerances for quality and detail.

One of the biggest challenges Hardin faced was installing the exposed structural steel ceilings. The steel trusses had to be erected in two pieces, 50 ft. in the air, which made the alignment extremely challenging.

Another challenge presented itself at each of the two main entrances to the mall. Both entrances were constructed entirely out of structural glass. This system utilized half-inch glass, which was supported from ¾-in. glass that acted as fins to support the walls. By using this system, there are no obstructions visible.

The Mall at Millenia has become the largest retail-construction project in Orlando's history, and the city's first luxury mall. Notably, the Mall at Millenia has also set records with the city of Orlando's permitting department, with the issuance of over 900 permits as of August 2002. This has resulted in over $1.8 million in fees for the city of Orlando.

The developer assisted the city of Orlando in the various improvements to the I-4/Conroy Road Interchange, which included additional landscaping, custom lighting and high-class signage, reflective of the design elements at the new mall.