The City of Sunny Isles Grows in a Brighter Image as a Prime Oceanfront Location

Recently, an article by Andres Amerikaner of the Miami Herald was written highlighting my favorite city, Sunny Isles. Here are some highlights…

The surge in Sunny Isles real estate has led to an unexpected distinction as it’s shed the run down image of the past to a touristic resurgence of the future. Trip Advisor, the largest travel community online, has ranked Sunny Isles as the top emerging destination in the country for 2008. The company spokesman said this is based on changes in search activity and postings. ‘

“They are the up and coming destinations,” Ferencsik said. “It’s about emerging destinations, more so than it is the hottest or most popular destination.” Brooke Ferencsik of TripAdvisor

The City of Sunny Isles struggled with its image prior to being incorporated in 1997. With dilapidated motels lining Collins Avenue since the 1940’s, the City of Sunny Isles more than welcomes this new recognition as a tourist attraction and wonderful place to live. Now Collins is lined with Luxury Oceanfront Condos in Sunny Isles and Condo Hotels in Sunny Isles such as Acqualina, Jade Ocean, Turnberry Ocean Colony, Le Meridian M Resort and Trump International Sonesta Beach Resort. Donald Trump sees the future value of prime locations such as Sunny Isles and has now built 6 luxury high rise developments with the Trump name on each. The newest tower known as Trump Tower I has begun closings and the deals are to be had! Trump Tower II and Trump Royale will soon follow in third and fourth quarter 2008.

The Sunny Isles attraction is multifaceted. It’s close to the Miami and Fort Lauderdale airports and a short cab ride from the nightlife and restaurants of South Beach real estate. There’s enough variety in each oceanfront hotel, from the flashy to the cheap, to fit any traveler’s budget when coming to Sunny Isles. The white beaches, normally populated by a majority of snowbirds and International travelers, are low key and very family friendly. Shopping at the newly expanding Aventura Mall is a short trip over the William Lehman Causeway into the City of Aventura (approximately 5 minutes). Then there’s the quaint restaurants serving quality ethnic fare such as my favorite Russian or Argentine cuisine which populate the Sunny Isles strip malls. High end spas and food delivery services are easily available as the money has poured into this prime area of investment. Despite the fast paced development of the last decade, the city has kept a homey feel with a small post office, a diffusion of tiny stores, great public parks, the infamous boardwalk off 169^th (Newport Beach Hotel) serving some of the best fish sandwiches and a tight knit community which follows the demand.

Ibis Romero of the Sunny Isles Beach Resort Association has been working diligently to make this city what it is today by promoting Sunny Isles to travel agents and tour operators. The Global reach is in full effect with Latin Americans from Argentina, Brazil and Chile, and Europeans from France, England, Germany and Italy form the core of the city’s international visitors, Romero said. These days, French streams from under umbrellas staked on the beach, sometimes more often than Spanish or Russian, two of the largest immigrant communities in the city. ‘It’s buzzing louder every day,” she said. “They’re comparing us to Hawaii.”

With all of the excitement comes a price… With all the extra income and development, the city’s tax base climbed from $1.1 billion in 1997 to about $6 billion in 2007. That is the new dilemma faced by the city, which is poised to start going after the big dogs, like Miami Beach FL real estate, in the battle for tourist dollars. ”You know what? Everything grows,” Romero said. “At the same time, I want to keep it our own little secret.”

And to Andres Amerikaner, Thank you for sharing this positive article on Sunny Isles as a landmark destination. Sunny Isles real estate is a well kept secret with very limited space to build and excellent buying opportunities in each luxury oceanfront condo tower along the Atlantic coastlines. I always welcome positive articles, feedback and area information on Sunny Isles. Feel free to add your comments, knowledge and thoughts pertaining to this post and the Sunny Isles you know of.