Brickell: A feel of city life (Miami, Miami Beach: fit in, foreclosure, rental)

[kevinkagy]

Very good article, worth a read!

Brickell's draw: A feel of city life - 04/05/2008 - MiamiHerald.com (broken link)

At the new Segafredo cafe in the Brickell Avenue neighborhood, a Friday night crowd presses against velvet ropes. Inside, it's impossible to catch the bartender's eye, impossible to weave through all the bodies to find friends.

Just down the street, the Novecento restaurant is just as claustrophobic. A couple of blocks north at Rosa Mexicano, there's an hourlong wait for dinner, and servers are a blur of tableside guacamole-mashing.

Not long ago, the Brickell area, although home to a string of posh condo towers that went up in the 1980s and 1990s, was more a business district that seemed deserted after dark. But Miami's building boom is changing the skyline and street life.

Today's market is tough for condo sellers on Brickell, with some investors taking proverbial baths, and foreclosure rates climbing. But even with many of the new glossy towers seemingly half empty, the area is jelling as the real-estate slowdown offers a positive: It's opening the door for eager young professionals to snag rental bargains in an area they could not have afforded a year ago.

''I have a lot of friends who live and work on Brickell,'' Mario Baltizar, a 31-year-old accountant who moved to Miami from Argentina two years ago, says while sipping a vodka tonic and scoping the single girls at the Rosa Mexicano's bar. ``So I think I'm going to find a place down here to rent for a year and then maybe think about buying later when things get cheaper.''

More and more pedestrians are filling the sidewalks at night, taking their fancy-breed dogs for walks, strolling to just-opened restaurants, coffee bars, lounges.

That feel of city life is what attracted martial-arts teacher Darryl Lipsky, who used to live a few minutes from the karate school in West Kendall where he has worked for 16 years.

In 2006, Lipsky bought a loft with stunning bay and city views at Neo Vertika, on the Miami River at 690 SW First Ct. Now he has a serious commute to work. But the extra time behind the wheel is worth it.

''I can walk to restaurants, to clubs. I used to call where I lived the country,'' says Lipsky, 36. ``Kendall is great if you have kids, I guess. But I don't. For me, the city is the place to be.''

[MiamiVice1985]

go to Segafredo on Brickell and try making the argument that there is a recession in Miami. HA. They'll laugh at you. In Italian!!!

[kevinkagy]

Link to the article:

Brickell's draw: A feel of city life - 04/05/2008 - MiamiHerald.com (broken link)

[keepitsimplestupid]

I currently live in Miami Beach. I have never spent a lot of time in Brickell. It seems very appealing though!

[Bette]

A positive article and a good one too! We'll be down by Brickell Thursday morning - any good breakfast places around 8 AM? We have a hour on our hands....

[kevinkagy]

Downtown Miami has become a very nice place, and Brickell especially is starting to get major density, with tons of new residents and retail. In a couple of years, Downtown Miami is going to be THE place to live in.

Brickell in 2007 (looking north):


Moderator cut: copyright photo

Espirito Santo Financial headquarters (Espirito Santo Plaza):

[TannerMan]

Ive always liked Brickell, just spent a couple of hours over at the Village and it was really buzzing.

[JacobMAX]

Brickell is really a good neighborhood, with good restaurants, good public transportation and many other things...

But I personally prefer Pinecrest.

[tallrick]

Originally Posted by JacobMAX

Brickell is really a good neighborhood, with good restaurants, good public transportation and many other things...

But I personally prefer Pinecrest.

I agree, if you meant the old suniland/palmetto/pinecrest before the drug dealers, lawyers and doctors ruined it.

[DenverLawGal]

Wow, this post/link was great. This is the area we think we'd fit in best. Thanks so much for posting it.