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Miami Beach
Miami Beach has been one of the premier beach resorts for almost a century. Located in the southeastern part of Florida, Miami Beach is actually a separate city from Miami even though it is often referred to as Miami. Miami Beach is seven and a half miles long and is separated from the mainland (Miami) by three and a half miles of water (Biscayne Bay).
Geography. Miami Beach runs parallel to the Atlantic Ocean and is connected to Miami by four different causeways – MacArthur Causeway (5th Street), Venetian Causeway (17th Street), Julia Tuttle Causeway (41st Street), JFK or 79 Street Causeway (71st Street on the Miami Beach side). Miami Beach starts at South Pointe and goes north to 88th street and Collins Avenue, which is where Surfside begins. East to west, it is anywhere from a few blocks wide to over ¾ mile wide. There are many different neighborhoods that comprise Miami Beach. The most popular is South Beach or SoBe. South Beach, often referred to as America’s Riviera, has become one of the hottest places to vacation and be seen with celebrities, models, actors, politicians and business moguls in abundance.
International Jet-Setters. In the 1980’s, Miami Beach was popularized by the hit television series Miami Vice and later by movies like Scarface. It has since transformed itself into a cosmopolitan city that is the host to international events like Art Basel Miami Beach, the Miami Beach International Boat Show, the South Beach Food & Wine Festival, the Coconut Grove Arts Festival, NASDAQ 100 Tennis Tournament, the Miami International Film Festival, the Miami Grand Prix and the Winter Music Conference to name a few. What used to be a relatively sleepy beach vacation destination has become the destination of choice by jet-setters worldwide and one of the top international destinations favored by South Americans, Europeans, Canadians and New Yorkers and many other Americans living in the Northern part of the U.S. who seek a warmer, more relaxed environment. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 87,933. 55.5% of the population was foreign born. A 2005 population estimate for the city was 87,925. Miami Beach has an endless number of sporting, cultural, and recreational activities to keep you entertained. Our sparkling beaches are beyond compare. Plus, there are excellent shopping and nightlife activities that include ballet, theater, and opera (as well as all the celebrity-saturated hotels, restaurants, bars, and clubs) that have helped to make Miami Beach so famous.
Architecture and The Art Deco District. In 1979 Miami Beach's Art Deco Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Art Deco District is the largest collection of Art Deco architecture in the world and comprises hundreds of hotels, apartments and other structures erected between 1923 and 1943. Mediterranean, Streamline Moderne and Art Deco are all represented in the District. The Historic District is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the East, Lenox Court on the West, 6th Street on the South and Dade Boulevard along the Collins Canal to the North. The movement to preserve the Art Deco District's architectural heritage was led by former interior designer Barbara Capitman, who now has a street in the District named in her honor.
Miami Modernist Architecture originated in the 1950s and 60s as a resort vernacular unique to Miami and Miami Beach. It was a popular response to the various modernist and post world war architectural movements that were taking place in other parts of the world, adding glamour, fun, and material excess to otherwise stark, minimalist, and efficient styles. Miami Modernism was heavily concentrated in Middle and Upper Miami Beach along Collins Avenue, as well as, but to a slightly lesser extent, the Biscayne Boulevard corridor in the city of Miami. A similar but different style also developed in california during this time known as "Googie". The term umbrella term "Miami Modernism", or "MiMo" for short has only recently been coined to recognize this particular style native to the greater Miami metropolain region. The term was coined by Miami Beach resident Randall C. Robinson and interior designer Teri D'Amico. Prime examples of "MiMO" architecture include the Fontainebleau Hotel, Eden Roc Hotel, Seacoast Towers, Deauville, and Di Lido hotels by famed architect Morris Lapidus and Norman Giller's Carillon Hotel, which was voted Miami Beach's "Hotel of the Year" in 1959.
History. As cities go, Miami Beach has a relatively short history since little more than one hundred years ago, the area was nothing more than a nameless and virtually impenetrable collection of islands (landfill has fashioned it as it is today) lined with natural sand beaches on the ocean side, and a tangled of palmetto jungles and mangrove swamps in its interior. Prior to 1870, the island was practically untouched and aside from a few Tequesta Indian remains found from the 15th century, the only other known inhabitants of this forlorn strip of land were alligators, crocodiles, and ever-present mosquitoes.
Government. Miami Beach is governed by a Mayor and 6 Commissioners. The mayor runs commission meetings and the mayor and all commissioners have equal voting power. The Mayor serves for terms of 2 years with a term limit of 4 terms and commissioners serve for terms of 4 years and are limited to 2 terms. Commissioners are not voted for by region and every two years 3 commission seats are voted upon. As of November 2007 the Mayor is Matti Herrera Bower. The Commissioners are: Saul Gross, Jerry Libbin, Richard Steinberg, Ed Tobin, Deede Weithorn and Jonah Wolfson.
Real Estate Statistics. In Miami Beach for the month of January 2008, there were 4,490 condos and houses available for sale. There were 73 closed sales during January; these sold for an average of 87% of asking price and averaged 161 days on market. During January 98 properties went into contract.
Residential Neighborhoods
Miami Beach consists of the following areas – South Beach, Mid-Beach/Millionaires Row and North Beach and several islands. Each of these areas consists of several different neighborhoods.
South Beach is a section of Miami Beach, Florida that encompasses the lower 23 blocks of the island from the point south of 1st Street to 23rd Street. For more detailed information, please see South Beach.
Star, Palm & Hibiscus Islands, also known as the South Islands, are accessible only from the Macarthur Causeway and are among the most exclusive neighborhoods in Miami Beach. Star Island is located in Biscayne Bay just off the Macarthur Causeway and has about 30 waterfront single family residences on just two streets, separated by a park-like median consisting of banyan trees, royal palms and an old water tower. The houses are typically very large and sit on lots of about an acre or more with one on over 268,000 square feet. Celebrities like basketball player Shaquille O’Neal, hip-hop music mogul Sean Coombs, Rosie O’Donnell, shoe designer Donald Pilner and Latin music moguls Gloria & Emilio Estefan. Homes here range in price from $10 million to over $30 million. A little less exclusive but still very affluent are Hibiscus Island and Palm Island. Palm island is located just west of Star Island and is also off the Macarthur Causeway with about 140 single-family homes located on three streets. Homes here range from just under one million to over $10 million. Hibiscus Island is just north of Palm Island and has about 155 single-family homes in a similar price range.
The Venetian Isles consist of the Belle, Di Lido, Rivo Alto, San Marco, Biscayne and San Marino Islands. They are a string of artificially created islands developed in the 1920’s that connect to 15th Street on the Miami side and is accessible from 17th Streeet and Dade Blvd.from the Miami Beach side. There are over 450 single-family homes on these islands. Waterfront houses typically start at over $2.5 million with houses on dry lots at about half the price. On the easternmost island, Belle Island, there are mainly condos. Cyclists and runners are often seen on the roads here as it is a very scenic route and almost safe from Miami drivers. Andre Balazs, the Hotelier, purchased the former Lido Spa located on the North side of Belle Isle and transformed it into the Standard Hotel, one of the top spas in Miami.
Mid-Beach consists of the area north of 23rd Street up to 63rd Street. The intra-coastal splits Miami Beach here. On the beach side are condominiums; the other side are almost all single-family homes with the exception of a couple of apartment buildings and Aqua at Allison Island, an eight acre man-made, gated island consisting of 151 condos and townhouses. The neighborhoods of La Gorce, Nautilus, Bayshore and Oceanfront make up Mid-Beach.
The La Gorce Neighborhood includes all of the area from Surprise Lake, north to La Gorce Island, and from Biscayne Bay east to the Indian Creek waterway. La Gorce Island and Allison Island are part of this neighborhood. The Lake View Area, bounded by Lake View Drive and 51st Street is a sub-neighborhood of the La Gorce Neighborhood. The area is generally comprised of single-family residential streets. There are no institutional uses, and only one small commercial building on 51st Street and Cherokee Avenue. North Bay Road, Alton Road, Pine Tree Drive, and La Gorce Drive are all comprised of large-lot, single family homes. North Bay Road stretches from 20th Street north to 63rd Street and has about 95 bayfront estates on some of the most prized real estate with spectacular wide open bay views of Miami. Pinetree Drive or Millionaires Row boasts a number of large estates on the intra-coastal. La Gorce Island is another very exclusive area.