Smith and Wollensky Restaurant at South Pointe Park
Whether you are in town for Miami Art Week 2012 or just visiting Miami to enjoy our beautiful city, you will want to visit one of these restaurants. Although Miami is surrounded by water, there aren’t that many waterfront restaurants. In my opinion, these are, in my opinion, the best waterfront restaurants in Miami.
There are a lot of great breakfast spots in Miami, from Wagon’s West in Pinecrest; Greenstreet and Peacock Garden Cafe in Coconut Grove, and one of my favorites, The Big Pink on South of Fifth. But for Sunday Brunch, I want something a little more extravagant. Here are some of my top brunch spots from Coral Gables to Miami Beach:
Biltmore Champagne Brunch Coral Gables – Whether you enter through the grandiose lobby or by their gorgeous pool, the setting for the Biltmore’s Sunday Brunch reminds me of the Great Gatsby era and I love the history of the place.
Gibraltar at Grove Isle Coconut Grove – This restaurant has one of the most gorgeous views in Miami.
The National Hotel Miami Beach – Though not as decadent on the food end as the others on this list, the fact that it is so reasonably priced and comes with complimentary access to the hotel’s beach and pool
Black Friday brings out buyers looking for bargains and buyers looking for Miami real estate investment properties are here in droves. While most people are enjoying time with family and friends, Realtors are busy selling properties. Driven by news reports of increasing prices, decreased inventories, and increasing rents both local and foreign buyers continue to purchase Miami real estate for investment.
The top places where my buyers are looking, not in any particular order:
Brickell: Currently there are 526 condos for sale in the Brickell area. They range from $146, 900 for 580 square feet to $16.8 million for 9080 square feet.
Downtown Miami: There are 567 condos for sale in Dowtown Miami. Prices start at $124,900 for 400 square feet up to $4.4 million for 5650 square feet.
Midtown, Wynwood: The new “in” place to be does not have a lot of residential units. There are currently 112 condos for sale in the Midtown/Wynwood area ranging in price from $82,000 for 872 square feet to $2.4 million for 3988 square feet.
Downtown Dadeland: There are 30 condos for sale in Downtown Dadeland with prices starting at $177,000 for 700 square feet and going up to $400,000 for 1,429 square feet.
Coconut Grove: Coconut Grove does not have a lot of condos and few were built during the boom. There are currently 120 condos for sale in Coconut Grove that are either condos are town homes. They range in price from $60,000 for 409 square feet up to $14.5 million for a 9110 square foot unit at the Grovenor House.
Coral Gables: There are only 100 condos for sale in Coral Gables. They range in price from $91, 500 for a 994 square foot foreclosure with extensive fire damage to another foreclosure at $7.9 million for 11,402 square feet at the Gables Club.
Pinecrest: There are very few condos and town houses in Pinecrest, an area mostly comprised of single family homes, so it is not surprising that there are 13 condos for sale in Pinecrest. The lowest price is $99,900 for a 574 square foot short sale at Monterey Gardens to a 2, 226 square foot unit at the Reserve at Pinecrest for $599,000.
These neighborhoods are all located near public transportation, restaurants, entertainment and shopping, and all of them are in demand with people looking to rent.
A green corridor comprised of Cutler Bay, Palmetto Bay, Pinecrest, South Miami, Coral Gables, Miami and Miami Shores has been formed to assist in financing energy related improvements to property. Formaly named The Property Assessed Clean Energy District (PACE), this new corridor will enable businesses and residents to finance energy related improvements to their properties through a special assessment on their property. This program is strictly voluntary and provides a list of contractors as well as energy efficiency assessments. If you can save money on your electric bill, would you take advantage of this program?
The City Beautiful may want to consider changing its name the The History Preservation City. In addition to Coral Gables’ list of locally designated historic properties, they have a number of historic landmarks. One of them, the Alhambra Water Tower, is prominently featured on the upper right hand corner of ILoveSoFla’s blog. The De Soto Plaza and Fountain is another one. Now the City of Coral Gables is considering adding Coral Way between Anderson Road and Alhambra Circle to its current 21 historic districts.
KaBoom, a national non-profit whose “mission is to create great playspaces through the participation and leadership of communities”, will be awarding Pinecrest its Playful City USA Recognition at the Village Council’s June 12 meeting.
Other cities in Miami-Dade County that were recognized include Coral Gables, Palmetto Bay, Doral and Miami Lakes. KaBoom’s recognition makes these cities eligible for grants that will support parks and recreation areas. The more parks we have in South Florida the better! Congratulations to all cities who made Kaboom’s 2012 List of Playful Cities.
Make sure to visit the parks in these cities over the summer.
I drive Riviera every day on my way to and from work and love all of the renovations that have been going on on that street between Hardee and U.S.1. Whether on a waterfront lot, like the house below, or a dry lot, over 6 homes have recently had major remodeling done.
Today is the last day to vote for Florida’s Best Building. It was fun to go through the list and vote. I was surprised by some of the buildings that were on the list as well as by the ones that didn’t make it. The buildings are listed by city. Guess which is the only buildings in Coral Gables to make the list?
Today is the last day to vote for Florida’s Best Building. It was fun to go through the list and vote. I was surprised by some of the buildings that were on the list as well as by the ones that didn’t make it. The buildings are listed by city. Guess which is the only buildings in Coral Gables to make the list?
