The plan for Downtown Kendall was initiated by the local chamber of commerce, property owners, and neighbors. Dover-Kohl teamed with Duany-Plater Zyberk & Company to conduct a seven day charrette in June 1998, soliciting input from community members, business owners, elected officials, and technical experts. The resulting plan charts a course for evolving the thriving suburban mall and surrounding sprawl into a metropolitan center that better leverages its unique place in the regional transportation system.

A form-based code accompanies the Master Plan to ensure that new projects are consistent with the vision for Downtown Kendall, which is for it to become a model for transit-oriented development. At the forefront is an architecturally varied cityscape designed around the pedestrian rather than the automobile.

The Master Plan was approved by the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners in 1998 and the code was adopted in December of 1999. This new ordinance replaces the existing zoning districts to form a new zoning district in the Miami-Dade County Zoning Code. The Downtown Kendall project has been featured in Florida Trend, on NBC 6 and WPBT reports, and in a special issue of Business Week, "21 Ideas for the 21st Century." Construction on several sites is complete and several more are under construction or permitted. The area continues to evolve into a vibrant transit-oriented center.