Golden Beach gets $25 million makeover

Last week we (The Golan Team - 786-271-1235) were working with a Buyer that asked us about property in Golden Beach. He referred to the area as the Malibu of the East Coast. What a true statement!

Golden Beach is a small private oceanfront community of just 374 homes and lots. There are no multifamily buildings, no commercial enterprises and the number of residents are just over 900. This city which has its own police force and mayor has always been a magnet for the incredibly rich and famous. It has boasted such past celebrity residents as Eric Clapton and more recently Ricky Martin who paid $16.25 million for his oceanfront residence in 2007.

So what did they spend the $25m on?

Originally this almost 2 mile long city had no sidewalks on Ocean Blvd (A1A) so the city has now installed sidewalks, cleaned up the ragged street edges, planted fancy palms in the median of the street, installed fountains at both ends of the city and built parks as well a complete renovation to the Beach pavilion. The most ambitious project of all is that they spent $6.4m to replace to bury every pipe and electrical utility under ground in waterproof conduits which now include cable, power and power lines. thus rendering all power storm proof. (This has only ever been done in one other city - Jupiter Island). This process took three years to complete. It came about after years of residents complaining that after a storm they would have to wade through ankle-deep water to get into their $10m+ residences.

To protect the privacy of their oceanfront residents, the City is also installing new infrared cameras and motion detectors along the shore. According to long legal convention the homes on the oceanside also have the private rights to the Beach (the water though is public so if you stroll along Golden Beach make sure you keep your feet wet!!!). This has come about due to the paparazzi that hung around the beach behind Ricky Martin's House perhaps to get a glimpse or two at his new twins and snap a photo or two for the tabloids!

Golden Beach is one of the wealthiest enclaves in Miami -Dade County. Except for a small section (2 blocks) in mid-Miami Beach there are no other single family homes directly fronting the beach with private sand. The average homeowner pays $95,000 in annual property taxes. It is made up of an almost 2 mile stretch along the ocean and three man-made islands fronting the Intracoastal. Most homes in the community are waterfront with boat docks.

The town financed the project by agressively going after State Grants, collecting a $4 million Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant after suffering extensive storm damage as well as enacting spending cuts as well as a $14 million bond issue. The residents and owners were not assessed anything for the renovation.

"We've come up with a great little machine here," says three term Mayor Glenn Singer. "It did not cost taxpayers an extra penny, and we're right on time and under budget."

The Mayor feels that the city of Golden Beach is already feeling the benefit of the changes. There are currently 13 homes under construction or renovation in spite of the current recession.

Current Golden Beach Listings:

There are 68 homes/homesites for sale in Golden Beach. They range in price for a 1600+ sf 2 bed home asking $499,900 to a double lot fronting 250 feet of the ocean asking $19,950,000

To see all listings click here and use the arrows on the top left to scroll between the listings

For Sale click: Golden Beach listings for Sale

There are currently 28 properties in Golden Beach for rent ranging in price from $299/mth - $50,000/mth. To view these listings -

For Rent click: Golden Beach listings for Rent

If you want to schedule an appointment to view any of these properties please call us at 786-271-1235 or drop us a note to info@golanteam.com