Downtown

Not long ago, Downtown Miami, located just north of the Miami river, was a forgotten neighborhood…not anymore!  The condo boom of the early 2000’s created the first wave of residential development at the urban core in decades. When the market fell in 2007/8, it created the opportunity for locals to buy in the center of town and create a critical mass for new life. Now in this next phase, we see the creation of super high end condo developments, like Zaha Hadid’s One Thousand Museum and the Aston Martin Residences.

While Brickell may be a little ahead of Downtown in its development, there is a great deal planned for Downtown, which could make it an even more interesting destination. For instance, the upcoming massive $1.7B Miami World Center mixed-use project encompassing 6 city blocks will forever change how we look at Downtown Miami. In addition, the Brightline, or Virgin Trains, the new light rail with Miami Central station in Downtown makes it the transportation hub to the rest of South Florida. Finally, one billionaire visionary developer with deep ties to the contemporary art world has purchased a huge assemblage of Downtown with plans to turn it into a vibrant tech hub gateway to Latin America.

Downtown is the home of the American Airlines Arena, Perez Art Museum and Frost Museum of Science. Bayfront Park is host to a number of concerts and events. Downtown Miami is the home of the busiest Whole Foods in the country, along with restaurants of international stature. The very active Downtown Development Authority has been at the forefront researching and re-invigorating this new urbanism in Miami.