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10225 COLLINS AV # 1801
$12,000
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9801 COLLINS AV # 3Y
$895,000
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Bal Harbour: All in One Place
You're on the ocean's doorstep in the village of Bal Harbour.
With the ocean on two sides, all of the treasures of Miami's barrier island beaches to the south, and just a step across a bridge to Florida's Haulover Park, whether living in or just visiting the village, you'll never need to leave the sand very far behind.
What’s more: shopping, culture, and a community that values its past — and it's future.
As with many of the communities nestled along the barrier island, Bal Harbour traces its roots to the Sunshine State's development boom of the 1920s and 1930s. Founder Robert C. Graham envisioned a "dream village," but he took a little detour along the way, leasing the land that would become what Bal Harbour is now to the United States Air Corps during World War II. Perhaps no other village in the state can boast a shopping strip that was once a prisoner-of-war camp for German captives.
That all changed in 1946, when post-war prosperity exploded and hotels began going up where rifle ranges used to be: Bal Harbour was on its way. By the 1950s, some considered it "America's Riviera," and it rang with the sound of Basie, Lombardo and Sinatra, all of whom gave concerts there. Celebrities walked its streets.
Today, Bal Harbour is still a resort community, but it's also home to more than 3,300, and is expanding. New resorts and shopping centers are going up, and residents live and work in the village and beyond — whether they make their homes in Bal Harbour's gated, private community or in the village at large. Family income is at a median $85,000, and about a quarter of the village hails from Spanish-speaking countries. Children attend classes within the Miami-Dade County district. A village council and mayor govern Bal Harbour. It has its own police force.
If it's warm weather you seek, you'll find plenty of it in Bal Harbour. Winters dip to only about 60 degrees Fahrenheit, and its summers top out at about 90. That means there's plenty to do outside, year round. In the summer, families — a mixture of tourists and residents — enjoy kids' camping (hosted by the Miami Children's Museum: remember, the metropolis is only a few miles away) and outdoor exercise classes on the beach. When programming slows down in the winter, there's still the state park to take in.
Haulover Park is surrounded by what are arguably South Florida's best waters — the relative calm of the Intercoastal Waterway on the west, and the open Atlantic to the east. There, residents and visitors can partake of tennis, a little golf, or slip a boat into the surf from the state marina. January and February bring kite-making to the park, and a festival of colorful wind-toys caps the "colder" season.
And what would summertime by the beach be without shopping and ocean-side boutiques and a bit of dining al fresco?
If fashion is your thing, Italian, Spanish and all manner of high-end styles await — from Europe, to island, to urban, you won't lack for fancy threads. You can even take in some runway action, sip a cocktail, and meet the designers at local outlets of world-famous houses like Oscar de la Renta and Sergio Rossi. Spas will pamper you and jewelers will adorn your loved ones with shiny things.
Art is part of the Bal Harbour concept, too, with local galleries hosting cutting-edge photographers and village retailers sponsoring evenings of music and multimedia soirees throughout the summer. Food entrepreneurs get in the mix, too, bringing unique local treats to these events.
If all of this works up a thirst and an appetite, maybe it's time to explore the myriad of restaurants and cafes that make up Bal Harbour's cuisine scene. Of course, there are resorts and hotels from which to choose, and if you're thinking elegant dining you can do far, far worse than the Terrace Room at the Sea View or Mister Collins at One Bal Harbour. But don't overlook other options such as Carpaccio for linguine at the Bal Harbour shops or even head south to Café Ragazzi in the town of Surfside.
What's that you say? Head south? Exactly.
If all these elements in one place make it sound like you never need to leave Bal Harbour, fair enough, but don't forget that the barrier island is part of the greater Miami area, and just south of Fort Lauderdale. Heading down Collins Avenue brings you through family-friendly Surfside, and then all the sophistication of South Beach, just beyond. Theater, more shopping and dining, and nightlife await in the city proper, just over one of several bridges that connect the barrier to the shore.
