Village of Merrick Park Manager Kerem Kayser at the mall, which is changing its name to Merrick Shops. Photo by Walter Michot / The Miami Herald

The Village of Merrick Park wants to make sure consumers have no doubt about what happens at the open-air Coral Gables property.

That’s why the mixed-use project is changing its name to Merrick Shops. The name change, which was approved this week by the Coral Gables City Commission, will be implemented later this year or in early 2013.

“The Village of Merrick Park name really didn’t reasonate with shoppers,” said Kerem Kayser, senior general manager. “We believe it caused a lot of confusion in the maketplace. We wanted our name to distinctly represent that we are an exclusive shopping destination.”

The name change comes as Merrick Park celebrates its 10th anniversary in September and seeks to increase its profile within the Miami-Dade County retail landscape. A new marketing campaign will follow, as the mall readies itself for dramatic changes in the competitive landscape with the creation of a luxury shopping destination in the Miami Design District and construction of the new Brickell CitiCentre.

The mall has seen 24 months of consecutive same-store sales, and sales per square foot are at the highest level in the mall’s history, exceeding the record set in 2007 before the recession, Kayser said. But the mall’s owner General Growth Properties sees more potential.

“We definitely realize that we need to step up the game and be more aggressive,” Kayser said.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/07/27/2914629/village-of-merrick-park-gets-new.html