It has taken a long time to get here but it has finally happened. South Floridians are moving back to downtowns and moving into apartments. They are doing this in part because they want the ability to walk to work, restaurants, etc. Right now there is only one model for this new urban living in South Florida, a high rise residential apartment building with retail and or office space on the ground floor. While this is a relatively new concept for Florida, larger cities like New York and Chicago have been using this product type for hundreds of years successfully. It does create more density, which is what Florida cities are trying to accomplish, while cutting down on traffic by allowing people to do more walking. In theory this makes perfect sense and has many health benefits to boot. But there is one factor that must be accounted for, which is the heat that we have here for 6 months out of the year. It is the same reason that lifestyle centers have largely struggled here, because people don’t want to walk around in extreme heat and rain. But people are speaking with their wallets on this issue, and the result is almost overwhelming. They want this type of lifestyle and will make sacrifices to get it, and are buying these types of apartments quickly. So get used to seeing people crossing the street on foot when you are stopped at a traffic light, and walking on the streets in general. A mixed use property is coming to your neighborhood soon. As always thanks for reading and have a great day.
That village vibe: S. Floridians embracing developments with residential, retail units
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