Downtown West Palm Beach, FL

For the borders of Dwtn West Palm Beach I use Royal Palm Way as the southern boundary, Sapodilla Ave to the west, Banyan Blvd and Quadrille Blvd to the north and the bay to the east.

I divide Downtown West Palm Beach into three districts: City Place- the new urbanist/town center development west of Quadrille Blvd; Clematis St- the historic main street which dead ends into a great urban park; and everything north and south of Clematis St which is pretty dead and half developed.

Downtown West Palm Beach fell on pretty hard times in the 70s/80s due to crime and suburban sprawl issues. But like most American downtowns it saw re-birth in the 90s thanks to the preservation and renovation of the Clematis main street and the construction of City Place. Since those major improvements there has been a consistant trickle of new apartment buildings Downtown, slowly improving the viability of Dwtn as an urban neighborhood.

But to become a great urban district West Palm Beach needs significantly more mixed-use urban in-fill in the portions of Dwtn north and south of Clematis St, better bike infrastructure, more affordable rental options, and more retail options outside of Clematis and City Place.

Click here to view my Downtown West Palm Beach Album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Great density for a Downtown.
* Excellent ADA infrastructure and streetscaping along Clementis (historic main street) and the City Place Development. More hit or miss in other parts of dwtn with current ADA curbs often missing.
* Connectivity is generally good Dwtn but there are several wide, fast moving boulevards here.
* Generally a pretty high median income but also 25% of Dwtn residents are in poverty. Pretty good generational diversity and decent racial diversity.
* Decent amount of affordable housing options Dwtn.
* Good tree canopy throughout most of Dwtn, especially at City Place.
* Good park amenities overall with the riverfront running down the entire length of the bay attached is several larger parks. Centennial Park is the best park Dwtn with an amphitheater, fountains, large lawn, and space for farmer’s markets. City Plaza also has some attractive plazas spaces but small.
* Centennial Park functions as a quality civic space given its location at the end of Dwtn’s historic main street.
* Cultural amenities include a good array of restaurants, bars & cafes esp. concentrated at City Place & along Clematis; several art galleries (City Place), a cineplex, a couple performing arts center, and a comedy club, a couple music themed bars, several night clubs, and a couple of local museums. The convention center is located on the southern edge of Dwtn.
* Retail amenities include a Publixs and Gourmet Grocery store, several drug stores, many retail stores, boutiques and shops in the Square Shopping Mall; several boutiques/vintage stores on Clematis, several home good stores, plenty of banks, a couple of bookstores, tons of dessert shops & bakeries, lots of gyms, the main public library, and plenty of churches, and a major hospital is only 1/2 north of Dwtn.
* Overall this is a very safe dwtn.
* Decent college population of about 4-5K btwn PM Atlantic University & PM State College.
* Wonderful urban in-fill at City Centre. The rest Dwtn is a mix of bland 60-20s office bldgs and better modern high-rises.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Public transit is only decent Dwtn and in a handful of districts surrounding it. Most the City of West Palm Beach of fair-poor public transit access. Transit access to surrounding suburbs is similar.
* Dedicated bike lanes within Downtown and the City of West Palm Beach are limited to mostly waterfront trails. Some good connections to the suburbs. Dwtn also just rolled out dedicated bike stations in only Dwtn.
* Decent access to schools including a really great Arts High School and a couple Christian elementary schools.
* For sale housing is generally pretty expensive but smaller condos are moderately priced. Studios sell around 200K, lots of 1-bed condos selling btwn 200K-500K, most 2-beds sell btwn 300K-700K but some in the Ms, 3-beds generally 500k- the low Ms.
* Rentals are more expensive with studios leasing in the 2Ks, 1-beds generally in the 2-3Ks, 2-beds generally 3-4Ks, and 3-beds around 5K.
* No sports arenas dwtn.
* Dwtn hosts around 30K employees. Less than Ft. Lauderdale but not terrible considering the City’s size.
* Retail amenities are highly concentrated at City Place and along Clematis. The rest of Dwtn isn’t terrible mixed-use.
* Skyline is pretty bland.
* Historic architecture is pretty much limited to Clematis with a scattering through the rest of Dwtn (not including City Place).
* Dwtn is pretty dead along its southern and northern edges. Lots of surface parking and vacant lots here. Great urban massing at City Centre and Clematis.

Downtown Ft. Lauderdale, FL

This is a very compact dwtn between S Federal Hwy and NW 2nd Ave, and NE 4th St and south to 6th Street below the New River.

Downtown Ft. Lauderdale is a thoroughly modern Downtown as almost all of its historic fabric has been wiped away. From the little I’ve read it appears Downtown was a rough place around WWII, which would explain why civic leaders were so aggressive in their urban renewal effects. In the post war era, Downtown was mainly a 9-5 office district. Safe but very sterile and dead in the evenings. With the renovation of Las Olas in the early 2000s restaurants and other entertainment venues started to pop up Downtown. The district also became a major residential area and current day Downtown Ft. Lauderdale hosts a sizable population.

Other than 2 supermarkets, Dwtn lacks most neighborhood retail amenities. Much of this fortunately exists to the east in the Beverley Heights neighborhood along Las Olas but this is a crucial urban need if Downtown Ft. Lauderdale is to become a quality urban district. Dwtn also needs better bike infrastructure, more walkable schools, a large student presence, more affordable rental options, better cultural amenities and the in-fill of many vacant lots and surface parking lots north of Broward Blvd and south of the New River.

Click here to view my Downtown Ft. Lauderdale album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Pretty good density of a Dwtn.
* Connectivity is generally pretty good Dwtn. There are some wider streets but none are 1-ways.
* High quality tree canopy.
* Interesting mix of high incomes and those in poverty.
* Good racial diversity and a pretty high % of family households living Dwtn similar to Dwtn Miami.
* Other than a large homeless population, Dwtn is very safe.
* Dwtn has nice parks including riverfront trails on both sides of the river, Stranaham Land Park, and Huizanga Plaza, which also functions as Dwtn’s Civic Plaza although not a spectacular one.
* Cultural amenities Dwtn include plenty of restaurants, some bars & cafes, a couple life music venues, a couple local museums; and plenty of night clubs, a major performing arts complex, an Imax & Science Center but all in the adjacent Sailboat Bend. Dwtn also hosts the convention Center.
* Buildings can be tacky but generally good urban form. The newer construction is better that stuff built to the 2000s.
* Urban form and streetscaping are good in the core of dwtn. Lots of parking lots and underinvested streetscaping btwn Broward and 4th and south of the river.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Ok system of bike lanes in Ft. Lauderdale and to adjacent suburbs. A small bike sharing system exist in Ft. Lauderdale with only a couple of stations dwtn.
* Public transit is only good Dwtn and in a handful of districts surrounding it. The City as a whole has decent transit access as well as the surrounding suburbs.
* ADA and sidewalk infrastructure is generally good but a good amount of curb cuts don’t have modern ADA curbs and some missing sidewalks in the north and southern edges of Dwtn.
* Almost no remaining historic architecture.
* Walkable schools are limited to a couple quality elementary schools on the eastern border of Dwtn.
* Rental housing is expensive with studios leasing in the low 2Ks, 1-beds btwn mid 2Ks-low4Ks, 2-beds 3Ks-5Ks, and some 3-beds generally leasing in the 5Ks.
* For sale is a bit more reasonable as there are a fair amount of moderately priced 1-bed condos selling btwn 300K-600K, 2-beds btwn 500K-2 M, 3 & 4 beds 600K-3M.
* Only a handful of satellite colleges dwtn. No more than a couple thousands students Dwtn.
* Missing cultural amenities include art galleries and there are not sports arenas Dwtn.
* Difficult to determine but it appears about 30-40K employees work in Dwtn Fr. Lauderdale. I saw a report mentioned 60K but I believe that was the “greater dwtn area”. Office vacancy rate is at about 20%.
* Dwtn retail amenities are limited to 2 Publixs, a couple of drug stores, plenty of banks, a Dwtn Library, a couple gyms and churches. All the retail amenities are east along Las Olas (which is walkable fyi).

Downtown Miami, FL

I included within my Downtown Miami evaluation anywhere between SE 15 and NE 15th Roads,1-95/NW 1st Ave to the west and the water to the east. This includes half of the Bricknell District.

Downtown Miami is the historic heart of Miami. Along with Coconut Grove, it is the oldest settled area of Miami, with early pioneer settlements dating to the early 19th century. But development really didn’t get started until the extension of the Flagler railroad in 1896. Not surprisingly, there are only a handful of antique skyscrapers here and a small area remaining (btwn 1st SE and 2nd St NE) of concentrated historic structures. But Downtown Miami is in a boom cycle becoming the fast-growing area by population in the Miami area. This has particularly occurred in Bricknell, Miami’s densest and most complete urban district. Other housing concentrations are along the bay and in the Town Square sub district. Miami is one of the densest downtowns in America. Downtown also hosts a very high # of families for a Dwtn neighborhood certainly helped by having excellent schools and quality parks.

Downtown Miami is on the cusp of becoming an elite American Downtown. The area where it needs to improve the most is the filling in of vacant lots and surface parking lots north of the Miami River with in-fill. Miami could also improve pedestrian connections across the Miami River, clean up its sketchy spots, plant more trees, and provide more affordable rental housing.

Click here to view my Downtown Miami Album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Great downtown density with around 22K per sq mile living here.
* Miami has very good public transit within the City and that service is generally at least decent in the suburbs northwards to Pompano Beach. North of here and south of South Miami is when quality public transit starts to peter off.
Dwtn transit score of 9.7. Miami City score of 8.5. Good transit in most suburbs up to Pompano Beach. So north of here and so south of Miami.
* Ok bike lanes within the City of Miami. More dedicated lanes outside of the City. Pretty good dedicated bike station system covering Dwtn + Miami neighborhoods along the bay + Miami beach.
* Great economic diversity and generational diversity. About 25% of all downtown households are households w/ children (very high for dwtns). Good racial diversity too.
* Excellent array of quality schools dwtn and not just private and charter schools but several well rated public schools.
* For Sale are generally expensive but tons of moderately priced product. studios sell anywhere btwn 150K-450K, 1-beds are very diverse in price ranging from 175K-1M and some even more expensive; similar situation with 2-beds with prices ranging anywhere from 200K- 2M ; lots of 3-bed product. Prices generally range from 450K-3M. Even a good number of 4 beds available.
* Given that 1/4 of dwtn residents are in poverty it appears Dwtn has many affordable apts.
* Dwtn anchored by Bayfront, Maurice Ferre, & Margaret Pace Parks. Handful of smaller parks.
* Good cultural amenities including diverse restaurants, bars, cafes, and art galleries. Plenty of theaters ranging from community to professional, boutique theaters & a cineplex, lots of museums.
* Regional amenities include a Convention Center and the Miami Heat arena are Dwtn.
* Several satellite campus’s dwtn but not major university presence. Probably 5-6K students dwtn.
* Solid employment #s with 170-200K office jobs. Strong rent demand still and very expensive.
* Retail amenities include 2 supermarkets, drug stores, a Marshalls, the expansive Brickell City Centre (includes a Sac 5th, lots of clothing stores), Bayside Market (good array of shops but smaller & cheaper), plenty of boutiques, home goods & desserts, many banks & gyms, and a Dwtn library.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Connectivity is generally good but certainly several wider 1-way streets and poor connections (esp. for non cars) across the Miami River.
* Lots of rentals available but very expensive. Studios lease btwn 2K-4K, 1-beds is the same range but more product leasing in the 3Ks, 3-beds are plentiful but generally lease btwn 4K-10K with plenty even more expensive.
* Only one major league team plays dwtn.
* Some sketchy areas dwtn around Flagler where there is a high homeless population. These areas are esp. dangerous at night. But Bricknell and north of Flagler Avenue are safe areas.
* No stately post office
* Miami’s districts often lack strong distinction thanks to all the modern bldgs.
* Historic architecture is pretty limited but what does remain is nice.
* Urban massing is good in Bricknell but hit or miss north of the Miami River. Lots of open lots and surface parking still. Often a lack of cohesion.
* Tree canopy is so .
* Bricknell has a great buzz but north of the Miami River is hit or miss.

Beverly Heights/Colee Hamock- Ft. Lauderdale’s best urban neighborhoods

Beverly Heights and Colee Hamock are small inner city neighborhoods just east of Ft. Lauderdale. Both were built up between the 1920s- 1940s and share the Las Olas Blvd, a good urban biz district with lots of shoppings, restaurants and bars. Colee has a good array of cute historic homes and Beverly Heights is mostly newly homes that have been built pretty well into the existing urban form of the neighborhood.

Both neighborhoods have decent walkability, great cultural and retail amenities, convenient access to Dwtn, and pretty good vibrancy. But lots of urban holes remain here including so-so public transit access, low density, frequent missing sidewalks and ADA curb cuts, limited bike infrastructure, limited diversity, few parks, no schools, and expensive housing. There is certainly the potential here for a great urban district, but those important aspects to urban life would need to be improved.

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Great access to dwtn with decent public transit access. But for an inner ring suburb public transit is pretty limited.
* Good Tree canopy.
* Good cultural amenities including many restaurants, bars & cafes, several art galleries. Also convenient access to the Dwtn cultural amenities.
* Good retail amenities This includes a drug store, lots of clothing and boutique stores, some jewelry and home good stores, a post office, a couple of gyms, plenty of dessert shops, and also a hospital. A supermarket is nearby in Dwtn.
* Generally good architecture esp. modern. Modern infill is plentiful and generally with good urban form and of good quality. What exists of historic architecture is good but not a ton of it.
* Thanks to the many shops along Las Olas, there is decent vibrancy.
* Strong business district along Las Olas Blvd and a western border along Dwtn provides strong neighborhood imageability.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Density is pretty low for an inner city neighborhood.
* ADA and sidewalk infrastructure is decent but not great. Some streets without sidewalks and about 50% of intersection have modern ADA infrastructure.
* Dedicated bike infrastructure is limited to 1 dedicated bike station and a small dedicate bike lane along Las Olas.
* Racial diversity is ok. Limited economic and generational diversity. Lots of younger, childless households.
* Only two parks here. One small and the other medium sized.
* Walkable schools include a pair of quality elementary schools but not much else nearby.
* Rental hsg is pretty expensive. 1-bed generally lease in the 2 & 3 Ks but some in the mid 1Ks. 2-beds lease anywhere btwn 2K-4K, 3-beds lease in the 4Ks & 5Ks.
* For sale hsg is also pretty expensive but some modest priced condos. 1-beds sell btwn 150K-300K, 2-bed condos and homes sell btwn 400K-800K, 3-beds SF btwn 800K-1.5 M. 4-beds sell for a bit more.
* There doesn’t appear to be much affordable housing here.
* Missing retail includes banks, a public library.
* No schools within the neighborhood. A couple quasi-walkable schools in the area but of mixed ratings.

Hollywood, FL- A decent Miami suburb with a large urban core

Hollywood was founded by a Joseph Young in the 1920s who poured millions into its development. Hollywood quickly become a destination for snowbirds and grew to 2,600 by 1930 and 6,000 by 1940 helping to create a decent walkable dwtn along W. Hollywood Blvd. The City’s population really grew after WW II growing to 14K by 1950, 35K by 1960, and exploding to 106K by 1970.

West Hollywood and Harrison Streets (btwn the Circle and Dixie Hwy) form the core of Dwtn Hollywood and the best walkable and mixed- district. There are also lots of nice MF buildings along the Circle. But the urban core is actually quite extensive (for Florida standards) as West Hollywood blvd has decent urban form all the way to 1-95 and a good amount of streets with homes from the 1930-1950 with sidewalks. Like most Florida dwtn suburbs, Hollywood has good cultural and decent retail amenities. This is also one of suburban Miami’s most diverse suburbs with relatively affordable housing. There are also good schools here and well dispersed park amenities. What Central Hollywood really needs to move from a decent urban district to a good one is quality mixed-use buildings along all its business corridors, more density, more retail amenities, safer bike lanes, and better public transit.

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Nice connectivity in Dwtn Delray Beach
* A pair of dedicated bike lanes run thru dwtn but no dedicated bike stations.
* Overall pretty good diversity especially racial and generational.
* Delay has a decent amount of affordable housing thanks to having their own Housing Authority.
* Culturally a great array of restaurants, bars, & cafes, tons of art galleries, a couple of museums, a cineplex, a performing arts center and a couple other theaters, and several live music venues.
* Also good retail amenities with tons of boutiques and brand name clothing stores, a couple drug stores, a bookstore, tons of dessert stores, a couple gyms, plenty of salons & barbers, a post office and dwtn public library .
* Good urban form along most of Atlantic Ave and ne 2nd Ave.
* Dwtn Delray is generally feels safe but has a pretty high crime rate.
* Overall pretty good modern infill with decent design and quality urban form.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Density not great but pretty average for a Florida suburban dwtn.
* Not great access to Dwtns. About 30-40 min drive to dwtn West Palm Beach and Ft. Lauderdale and 1 hr. to Dwtn Miami. About 1 hr. + via train to either Dwtn.
* For sale housing is pretty expensive but some moderately priced condos. 1-bed condos sell btwn 275K-500K, 2-beds sell anywhere btwn 400K-1M, and wide variety with 3 & 4 beds selling anywhere btwn 500K- 2M.
* Rentals are even more expensive with studios leasing in the 2KS, 1-beds btwn mid 2Ks-5Ks, 2-beds btwn 3K-7K, 3-beds btwn 5K-12K.
* Parks are limited to the Old School Square (a nice centrally located park) and the small Veterans Park.
* Dwtn is missing a supermarket.
* No schools within the Dwtn area. Some private schools nearby but pretty small.
* Some historic hsg on the more SF streets but not a ton. Biz districts is all modern in-fill.

Lake Worth, FL- One of Southeast Florida’s most diverse suburbs

Lake worth stood at only 38 residents in 1912. But this quickly changed as the town grew rapidly benefitting from the Florida land boom in the 1920s. Lake Worth’s population more than quintupling from 1,106 in 1920 to nearly 6,000 in 1930. Sadly the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane devastated Lake Worth. The storm, combined with the Great Depression led to a severe economic decline within the community. Yet Lake Worth saw rebirth after WWII growing to 7,406 in 1940. The 1970s-1990s was a period of neglect for Downtown and the inner-city neighborhoods and Lake Worth gained notoriety as the “skin-flick capital of the country”. But cheap real estate brought many immigrants to Lake Worth greatly diversifying the City. Most immigrants came from Central America and the Caribbean. By the late 1990s dwtn began to revitalize and Central Lake Worth is more or less a stable place with some seedy and disinvested pockets remaining.

Unlike other suburbs between Miami and West Palm Beach with urban Dwtns, Lake Worth has great connectively, bike infrastructure, and solid public transit. It is also much more diverse and affordable than its comparable suburbs. Lake worth also has solid cultural and retail amenities located mostly on Lake and Lucerne Aves. But to truly be a good urban district, Lake Worth needs more urban infill along Lake and Luceren Avenues, a total urban rehaul of Dixie Hwy, which is very auto centric right now, more park space, and more retail amenities.

Click here to view my Lake Worth Album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Pretty good density, especially for a Miami suburb.
* Generally sidewalks and ADA curbs are in place but few up to date ADA curb cuts.
* Solid public transit access and only a 30 min train ride to dwtn West Palm Beach. 50 Min train to Ft. Lauderdale.
* Great connectivity and great bike lanes system Dwtn.
* Great racial and economic diversity here.
* Rentals are moderately priced, especially for Miami Standards. 1-beds rent in the 1Ks, 2-beds in the 2 & 3Ks, 3-beds are slightly more expensive.
* Also a decent amount of moderately priced for sale housing. 1-bed condos sell anywhere btwn 50K-800K depending on size and condition. 2-beds btwn 150K-800K, 3 & 4 beds anywhere btwn 200K-1M.
* There also seems to be a fair amount of voucher hsg available too.
* Decent cultural amenities with a good array of restaurants (esp. Hispanic), bars, and cafes. Also a couple live music venues, a theater company, plenty of art galleries, and several local museums.
* Retail amenities include a Publix supermarket and many grocerias, plenty of drug stores, a decent # of boutiques and banks, several antique and home good stores, a book store & record shop, tons of consignment stores, several dessert joints, a dwtn post office and public library, and a couple of gyms.
* Quality historic homes and a good amount of quality historic commercial remains.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Park space is limited to a Dwtn plaza and decent waterfront park.
* No hospital near dwtn and few medical offices.
* Dwtn Lake Worth is generally pretty safe but has its issues and a fair amount of blight that remains for its disinvestment btwn the 70s-90s.
* In-fill is a mixed bag. Some decent stuff along Lake Ave the biz district but lots of crummy autocentric bldgs along Dixie Hwy.
* Urban mass is bad along Dixie and a mix-bag along Lake and Lucerne Ave.

Delray Beach, FL- Another attractive SE Florida beach town

Delray Beach was limited to a couple hundred souls until Henry Flagler extended his Florida East Coast Railroad south from West Palm Beach in 1896. This fostered a small historic dwtn built on surrounding agriculture for the next couple decades. But in the 20s more and more vacationers came fueled by the Florida Land boom came. By 1930 its population had grown to 2K. Delray was also the largest town between West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale and attracted seasonal Artists and Writers who were not welcomed in Palm Beach. Sadly Delray had a history of excluding Jews from purchasing homes well into the 60s. In the 1970s, Interstate 95 was fully completed and suburban development west of the city limits exploded. Delray grew to 20K residents by 1970 and 50K in 1990. This sadly left Dwtn Delray and surrounding inner city neighborhoods in economic decline. Thankfully Dwtn Delray has experienced a rebirth in the past 2 decades and is a rather happening place. But many of the residential streets around Dwtn still bear the historic scares of disinvestment.

From an urban perspective Delray Beach has good urban form along most of its biz corridors (i.e. Atlantic Ave. and NE 2nd St), great cultural and retail amenities, and good urban infill. Sadly its historic decline meant that almost all historic commercial bldgs were leveled. Dwtn Delray also does not have great access to Dwtn Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, nor West Palm Beach, is very expensive, and has limited schools and park amenities.

Click here to view my Delray Beach Album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

Boca Raton- another Ritzy Miami Suburb with a small downtown

Boca Raton was incorporated in 1924 but remained very small until after WWII. This was largely due to a major hurricane in the late 20s and the bankruptcy of its developer and founder Mizner. Mizner had grand ambitions for Boca Raton and I assume if they were realized Boca Raton would have been more similar to Coral Gables in character. Boca Raton did pick up steam moving from only had 1,000 residents in 1950 to 7,000 in 1960 and 50K by 1980. But due to its later development most of the City is suburban with a small walkable Dwtn core of only 0.5 Sq. Miles, which often feels like a strong urban/suburban hybrid.

Downtown Boca Raton has established itself as a lifestyle and entertainment hub with tons of shopping, food & beverage retail, cultural amenities, good walkable amenities, but a so urban form. Because of their desire to make parking convenient, many surface lots and strip malls are mixed in with quality urban mixed-use buildings and plazas. Interestingly a strict development code for the size and types of commercial buildings exists in the City. I guess they forgot to pass different laws to make downtown truly urban. Throw in some tacky Mediterranean and Spanish Colonial Revival Architecture and you have a very strong hodgepodge of a place. The most consistant urban form is the colonnade buildings around Plaza Real and quality mixed-use buildings along most of E. Palmetto Blvd. Other areas for improvement in Dwtn Boca Raton include more affordable housing, better diversity across all metrics, and much higher density. In a city of 30 square miles creating a truly dense, walkable, and urban dwtn of 1 sq. mile shouldn’t be a controversial.

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* ADA infrastructure is good in the Dwtn area but hit or miss in the residential portion of the eval area east of Mizner Blvd.
* Several dedicated bike lanes running thru dwtn. Not dedicated bike stations however.
* Several very nice downtown plazas most notably that elongated Plaza Real which includes an amphitheater. Sandborn Park is also pretty nice. Not much else other than a couple smaller parks.
* Downtown Boca is a very safe place.
* Several good schools but none of them are Dwtn, all quasi-walkable west of Dixie Highway.
* Culturally Boca Raton has a good array of restaurants, bars, cafes, several breweries and art galleries, lots of live music venues, several local theaters, a cineplex, and several museums.
* Retail amenities include 4 supermarkets, a couple drug stores, many boutiques, lots of stores at the Minzer Park Shopping Mall, many gift shops, several home goods stores & consignment shops, tons of dessert shops/bakeries, and gyms, and a dwtn library and post office.
* The urban form of Boca Raton’s in-fill is generally good but I say that with some qualifications. The design is pretty tacky and there is still a lot of strip malls and surface parking lots throughout dwtn. In-fill along E. Palmetto Blvd and Plaza Real is the best.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Density is pretty low more like a suburb.
* Not great access to Dwtns. About 30-40 min drive to dwtn West Palm Beach and Ft. Lauderdale and 1 hr. to Dwtn Miami. About 50-1hr via train to either Dwtn.
* Diversity is pretty poor here especially economic and family.
* Rentals are expensive with 1-beds leasing in the 2K & 3Ks, 2-beds btwn 3K-6K, 3-beds 4K-8K. Pretty good supply.
* More moderate hsg with for-sale options. 1-bed Condos sell btwn 200K-600K, 2-beds sell at a wide variety btwn 300K-2 M, 3 & 4 beds 700K-3M.
* Only a little bit of historic architecture in the residential pocket of Boca Raton east of Dixie Hwy. None to speak of in Dwtn and along E Palmetto Blvd.

Sailboat Bend- an decent urban district just west of Downtown Ft. Lauderdale

Sailboat bend is a decent urban district just west of Downtown. Much of the pre-WWII housing is still in place here including some of the City’s oldest housing along Nugent Street. The eastern edge of Sailboat Bend feels more Downtown in character and hosts a food and beverage night life district along 2nd Street and several museums and performing arts theaters nearby. 2nd Avenue, however, has very limited non-food and beverage retail. The other business district along Broward Blvd is very auto centric. Most of the residential streets further west are line with heavy tree canopy and a mix of comfortable single family homes and small apartments and townhouses. Many residential streets, however, lack sidewalks and ADA compliant curbs. But due to its location next to Dwtn there is good public transit here and decent walkability in Sailboat Bend.

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Great access to Dwtn with good public transit access.
* Decent bike access with one dedicated bike station and a dedicate bike lane on Broward St.
* Excellent economic diversity and decent racial diversity. Generational diversity somewhat lacking.
* Very safe community.
* Pretty good diverse for sale price points. Decent # of 1-bed condos selling btwn 200K-400K, 2-beds sell btwn 275K-700K, 3 & 4 beds sell btwn 350K-900K.
* Cultural amenities include many restaurants and bars, several cafes, several museums, a major performing arts center, a couple live music theaters, and several historic houses. Most cultural amenities are concentrated on the eastern edge near dwtn. The neighborhood also has convenient access to Dwtn amenities.
* Decent architecture. Some good historic homes throughout and quality urban in-fill along the eastern edge. Broward Blvd is a very auto centric biz district.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Many residents streets are without sidewalks. Those with sidewalks generally have ADA infrastructure.
* Park space is a bit limited. Esplanade Park is a nice waterfront park connected to a bike lane. A couple other pocket parked in the neighborhood.
* Rentals are pretty limited and expensive. 1-beds lease anywhere from the upper 1Ks to the 2Ks, 2-beds 2K-3Ks, 3-beds are even more expensive but also very limited.
* Non-food and beverage retail amenities are pretty limited in Sailboat. There is a drug store, a couple boutiques and pretty good access to dwtn amenities like a post office, public library, banks, and other shops. But that’s really only convenient to residents living in the eastern edge of Sailboat Bend.

Grandview Heights- West Palm Beach’s best Urban Neighborhood

In this Grandview Heights+ evaluation I also included the small but connected neighborhoods of Flamingo Parks, Sunshine Park, and Pineapple Park. Each of these neighborhoods individually are very small. This includes the area between Belvedere Rd, Dixie Highway, and Okeechobee Blvd. and the river.

Grandview Heights is one of the City’s oldest neighborhoods built between 1910 to 1925. The neighborhood has one of the City’s best collection of early craftsman-style bungalows, as well as some modest, Mediterranean revival-style homes. After several decades of decline, Grandview Heights has been restored to a stable somewhat walkable mixed-use neighborhood composed of mostly single family homes, modern townhomes, and some apartments. Grandview Height’s also hosts the City’s largest urban park, Howard Park. There is also a good amount of historic homes in the other neighborhoods apart from this evaluation.

Grandview Heights + also has great access to Dwtn, decent public transit access, pretty good cultural amenities, decent retail amenities, and is overall a very safe district. But there are many urban areas where it can improve including more density and vibrancy, better bike infrastructure, missing retail amenities, and significant auto centric stretches in its biz districts, esp. along Belvedere. Dixie Hwy is a mixed bag. This can easily be rectified with a strong push for quality urban mixed-use infill along Belvedere and Dixie Hwy and more housing.

Click here to view Grandview Hghts Album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Pretty good ADA and sidewalk infrastructure but the biz district, while having sidewalks, are very auto dominated.
* Very good access to Dwtn being only about 1.5 SW of it.
* Howard Park is a large multi-faceted park on the neighborhood’s western edge. There is also a large cemetery here.
* Decent number of diverse restaurants and cafes along Belvedere and Dixie Highway. Also a good number of art galleries, the Norton Museum of Art & a couple other smaller museums. Also decent access to the many cultural amenities just north in Dwtn.
* Decent retail amenities including a supermarket, several grocerias, include a decent amount of boutiques, a couple home good stores, a bike shop, several gyms, a post office, and a Cleveland Clinic hospital is located at the border with Dwtn. unfortunately much of this retail is along rather autocentric roads. Some very good retail amenities just north in the new City Place Development.
* Some very nice historic homes here. Not many interesting historic commercial bldgs.
* Overall a very safe neighborhood.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Pretty low density.
* Public transit is ok, but pretty poor for an inner city neighborhood.
* Bike infrastructure is limited to one dedicated bike station.
* A very good public high school just north of Grandview Heights but only a couple other small private schools with the neighborhood.
* For Sale housing is generally pretty expensive but some are moderately priced. 1-bed condos and small houses sell btwn 235K-500K. 2-beds 300K-900k, 3 & 4 beds generally btwn 350K-1M, but some sell in the millions.
* Rentals are pretty limited. Sell anywhere btwn 1.5K-4K, 2-beds lease for 3K-4K, and some 3-beds lease for even more.
* Not a lot of affordable hsg here. That’s mostly north of Dwtn.
* No drug stores, only a couple banks, few dessert joints, and no public library here.
* Much of the infill is unattractive auto centric bldgs especially along Belvedere. Some nicer mixed-use in-fill adjacent to Dwtn. Dixie Hwy is a mixed bag.
* Not a ton of pedestrian activity.