Category: Miami

Edgewater- A rapidly urbanizing district just north of Downtown Miami

While Edgewater filled in between the 1920s-1950, the district has experienced rapid urbanization over the past decades. This has lead to the replacement of much of the historic fabric with new high-rise residential towers, mixed-use construction, and new retail. To put this in perspective the neighborhood had 15K residents in 2000 and now is approaching 25K.

Some may lament the loss of the neighborhood’s historic fabric but I generally feel it was an urban improvement. The historic homes weren’t terrible architecturally significant and the neighborhood lacked good density and had rather auto centric business districts. What we are seeking with the transformation and densification of Edgewater is more vibrancy & walkability, better urban form, and more and more cultural and retail amenities. Even with these positive urban changes there are still may vacant lots and auto centric buildings to fill in. Edgewater also lacks bike lane infrastructure, and more affordable housing options. There really needs to be a push to construct more affordable housing here, but unfortunately I don’t see any signs of it.

Click here to view my Edgewater Album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

  • Great density.
  • Being just north of Dwtn, very convenient access. Public transit options are also of a high quality and plenty of dedicated bike stations.
  • Overall very good racial and economic diversity.
  • A good # of walkable schools generally with solid ratings.
  • generally a safe district.
  • Margaret Pace Park is an excellent one at Edgewater’s southern edge. A couple other decent parks around here but not much else further north.
  • While there is certainly a fair amount of bland auto centric arch. (esp. along 2nd Ave) urban in-fill is generally pretty solid.
  • Culturally Edgewater has a diverse array of restaurants & bars, plenty of cafes, several art galleries, several local museums, a drive in movie theater, and the expansive Arsht Performing Arts Center & Carnival Studio Theater and Perez Art Museum are just south of the neighborhoods boundaries. Many Dwtn and Wynwood cultural amenities are also nearby.
  • Retail amenities include several Supermarkets & drug stores, a good # of boutiques and creative stores, plenty of gyms, banks and dessert shops, several churches, an Ace Hardware, and Target is walkable to many residents just over the neighborhood line in Wynwood.”

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

  • No really bike lanes.
  • For sale also ends to be expensive but decent moderate options oo. Many Studio & 1 bed condos selling btwn 100K-400Ks. Luxury 1-beds sell for more. Significant diversity w/ 2 beds selling anywhere btwn 200Ks-1M depending on condition and size of condo. Similar situation with 3-beds with price point ranging from 450K- mid 1 Ms. 4 & 5 beds are more expensive with many homes selling in the Millions.
  • Lots of rental product but very expensive. Studios lease in the low to mid 2Ks, 1 & beds rent btwn 2K-3Ks. 2-bed product leases btwn 3-5K. 3-beds 4-6K but some apts are even pricier.
  • Historic architecture limited to a sprinkling of remaining homes and small apts. Nothing spectacular and no historic district here.
  • Better urban massing than the Upper East Side but certainly plenty of Vacant Lots and autocentric areas along 2nd Ave and Biscayne Blvd.
  • No walkable post office or library in the neighborhood.”

Upper East Side- Home to Miami MiMo Architecture and a Solid Urban District

The Upper East Side is primarily a residential neighborhood of single family homes from the 1920s-1960s and many high rise residential towers clustered along the bay with Biscayne Boulevard running along the center of the neighborhood. There are two unique historic styles here: Miami Modern (MiMo) architecture along Biscayne Boulevard (mid-century hotels and condos), and the 1920s-1940s Mediterranean and Art Deco styles found in the Morningside Historic District.

Like much of urban Miami, the Upper East side fell on hard times during the 60s & 70s but had a major resurgence in the 90s and 2000s starting with the Morningside subdistrict. The area is now home to a wide variety of price points and housing styles. Upper Eastside also has solid park amenities, diverse ethnic restaurants and interesting cafes, stylish boutiques and some creative stores, lots of art galleries, and great racial and economic diversity.

Very an urban perspective quality urban form and streetscaping is spotty along the main commercial thorofare of Biscayne Blvd with lots of autocentric stretches, ADA infrastructure is hit or miss, density is pretty low leading to limited pedestrian activity, bike lanes are missing, and about 1/3 of the district is within a gated community. Fortunately these are all areas that can be fixed and I anticipate will improve as the neighborhood densifies and fills in.

Click here to view my Upper East Side Album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

  • Incredible racial diversity. It doesn’t get much better than this in America.
  • Economic diversity is also near the ideal.
  • Decent family and age diversity.
  • Thee appears to be a decent amount of dedicated affordable units here. Medium rent is $1,200.
  • Several decent walkable schools within or on the western border of the Upper East Side.
  • Solid Park amenities with Morningside Park topping the list.
  • Excellent Tree Cover especially in the Morningside subdistrict.
  • Some really cool Mid-Century Hotels still line Biscayne Blvd and the gated community of Morningside has some wonderful 1920s-1930s homes but much of the neighborhood was blander 1930s-1950 architecture.
  • In-fill architecture is a mix of auto centric and pretty decent urban Apartments and Mix-use bldgs. Lots of high rise towers as well.
  • Culturally a good array of very diverse restaurants, lots of cafes and dessert spots, a couple community theaters, plenty of art galleries, a couple of local museums.
  • Generally pretty safe district with some sketchy pockets.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

  • Roads are generally gridded and connected but 1/3 of all residential areas are within gated communities, providing only limited access to the public.
  • Decent dedicated bike coverage but very limited bike lane coverage.
  • Rentals are generally pretty expensive but some modest apts still available with some studios leasing around 1K. 1 & beds rent btwn 1.5K-3K. 3-bed product is pretty limited and expensive leasing anywhere btwn 3K-6K. Rentals are generally prohibited im the gated communities.
  • For sale also ends to be expensive but decent moderate options oo. Many Studio & 1 bed condos selling btwn 100K-300Ks. Luxury 1-beds sell for more. Significant diversity w/ 2 beds selling anywhere btwn 200Ks-800Ks depending if condo or SF home. Similar situation with 3-beds with price point ranging from 300K- low 1 Ms.4 & 5 beds are more expensive with many homes selling in the Millions.
  • Hit or miss with ADA current ramps but most areas have at least decent sidewalks.
  • Urban form is so . Biscayne is very much a mixed bag with clumps of decent biz clusters connected by autocentric stretches.
  • Okay retail amenities including a supermarket, a couple drug stores, a couple banks, a good # of boutiques & home good stores, . There is also a local library branch and the really cool Ironside complex but no post office.
  • Not great pedestrian activity.