Boca Raton

[coruna]

Sorry.....I did misunderstand you. The reason I did so was because you said "like Dshoot said". Dshoot said in the thread about "What's the best city in South Florida" that Boca was the best city in South Florida. So when you made a reference to his statement, it made me think that you agreed with him on that issue.

[floridian-will]

O I see

[DShoost88]

^ :-D HAHA! YES! FINALLY! I'm glad one of you are levelling with me now. By the way Floridian-will, I just wanted to correct you--it's Mizner *Park*, not Mizner Place; and when it was made, it was the first "Lifestyle Center" in the country. Now other cities are slowly catching on that lifestyle centers are the way to go. I have a plethora of photos of Boca, and I even made an earlier thread for the city with photos on it (search back a bit, you'll find it).

In terms of how I'd rate best city's (skyline-wise), I'd go (1) Miami/Miami Beach, (2) West Palm Beach, (3) Fort Lauderdale, (4) Coral Gables, (5) Boca Raton.

WPB is over FT. L solely because of the view when you come off of I-95 and onto Okeechobee. It may not have the heights of FT. L, but the waterscape it creates is breathtaking and much more inviting than Broward Blvd. into downtown FTL. I threw Coral Gables' skyline ahead of Boca's because I've always felt that their skyline is what Boca's is aspiring to become. It's mixed-use, European inspired, and generally mid-rise (around 12 stories max).

Coruna--you're totally right about the whole Boca's-a-car-suburbanite-community idea, but a lot is being done to change that. I'll try to post some more (recent) photos of the city soon.

[DShoost88]

I just wanted to revive this thread, since "Boca" is back on the market. ;-)

Make sure you check out the previous photos . More to come...

[floridian-will]

You cant fully apreciate how nice Boca is until youve been. It would even make a nice place for a vacation which is why boca should invest in some nice Hotel High rises. But DShoot im not sure if youve noticed but the boca inlet where the big pink building is on is really clear and emerald colored, call me crazy but I would even swim in it, and that is the ONLY inlet that I would swim in, do you know why it is so clean?

[Andyxox]

I heard boca has a height limit to their highrises, i also heard the pink hotel is the only building that exceeds these limits. Are both of these pieces of information true?

[coruna]

If Boca ever wants to urbanize itself, it will need to remove the height limit on its buildings.

[floridian-will]

Who ever said Boca wanted to urbanize itself, it wants to be a resort like retirement city.

[coruna]

I never said it wanted to urbanize itself. But until I retire, I don't want to live there the way it is right now.

[floridian-will]

Even when I retire Miami will be all I want, Vacations to west coast florida, if the oppourtunity comes, live in the keys, vacation to boca, but all in all, Miami takes the cake.

[DShoost88]

Boca got onto its feet as a resort destination, and has done a successful job over the past 80 years preserving that identity, but believe me it does not aspire to remain a "quiet resort-like" community. While it's stringent on its building height codes (for now), it is working on becoming "taller". I mean, if you take a look at the CBD/downtown, there are multiple buildings in the works to transform the skyline. Yes, they're only 9 or 10 stories, but they will also embody the architectural appeal and positive criticism that came with the construction of the Wachovia office building at the corner of Camino Real & US-1... and that's only 7 stories!

Last I added it up, there are about 10 buildings approved or u/c in "downtown" Boca (all about 10 stories, give or take). And with a similar urban-renewal going on in North Federal Highway in Boca, project announcements for Glades road @ Town Center, and additional office construction near the T-Rex corporations and Arvida Parks of Commerce (the largest office parks in the state*), Boca is certainly focused on SMART URBANIZATION. Think of it less like Miami and more like Naples, Italy, but with better transportation and more green space.

[MMH]

Boca wont even be on the top of the best skylines in SoFlo!
Boca doesnt even have an actual skyline its basically a couple of buildings around the same area just like other suburbs like miramar, pembroke and doral.
Boca cant have a better skyline than say aventura, sunny isles, kendall, coral Gables, hollywood, even hialeah has more dense number of midrises.

[coruna]

I know I can't be the most accurate on this, because I live in Miami, and don't go to Boca very often...I'm not very familiar with its newer buildings. But here's my ranking of the best cities in South Florida:

1. Miami
2. Miami Beach
3. Ft. Lauderdale
4. Coral Gables
5. West Palm Beach
t6. Sunny Isles
t6. Aventura
t8. Hollywood
t8. Kendall

After that, in terms of skylines, Hialeah, North Miami Beach, Key Biscayne, North Palm Beach, Coral Springs, and almost every other coastal city in South Florida not mentioned above would be ahead of Boca in terms of skylines. I have never spent much time there, but when I've driven through it or by it, it looks like there is no skyline at all. And BTW, 10-story buildings are not high-rises....they're low-rises, and therefore Boca actually has no high-rises with the exception of that one "pink building".

[DShoost88]

Originally Posted by coruna

I know I can't be the most accurate on this, because I live in Miami, and don't go to Boca very often...I'm not very familiar with its newer buildings. But here's my ranking of the best cities in South Florida:

1. Miami
2. Miami Beach
3. Ft. Lauderdale
4. Coral Gables
5. West Palm Beach
t6. Sunny Isles
t6. Aventura
t8. Hollywood
t8. Kendall

After that, in terms of skylines, Hialeah, North Miami Beach, Key Biscayne, North Palm Beach, Coral Springs, and almost every other coastal city in South Florida not mentioned above would be ahead of Boca in terms of skylines. I have never spent much time there, but when I've driven through it or by it, it looks like there is no skyline at all. And BTW, 10-story buildings are not high-rises....they're low-rises, and therefore Boca actually has no high-rises with the exception of that one "pink building".

WHOA! BIG MISTAKE! If you've only 'driven through Boca', then you have not SEEN Boca. I didn't even mention the 20-whatever story buildings along A1A... but even so, driving on the Turnpike or I-95 is not a good indication of Boca's skyline. Not at all. How on earth could you put N. Palm Beach or CORAL SPRINGS? ahead of Boca? They're jokes. ESPECIALLY Coral Springs. it's got two 12-story buildings and no coastline. If high rises are defined as buildings greater than 15 stories, then Boca has about 20 of them.

And furthermore, your list is f*ck*d up-- why would you put Coral Gables ahead of West Palm Beach? Have you traveled north recently? WPB is amazing, it has a very definitive downtown and several high rises... certainly much higher than anything in Coral Gables.

I recommend you take a drive up Federal Highway from Miami to West Palm and you tell me which cities stand out the most. That's the most effective indication of nice skylines.

[coruna]

Originally Posted by DShoost88

WHOA! BIG MISTAKE! If you've only 'driven through Boca', then you have not SEEN Boca. I didn't even mention the 20-whatever story buildings along A1A... but even so, driving on the Turnpike or I-95 is not a good indication of Boca's skyline. Not at all. How on earth could you put N. Palm Beach or CORAL SPRINGS? ahead of Boca? They're jokes. ESPECIALLY Coral Springs. it's got two 12-story buildings and no coastline. If high rises are defined as buildings greater than 15 stories, then Boca has about 20 of them.

And furthermore, your list is f*ck*d up-- why would you put Coral Gables ahead of West Palm Beach? Have you traveled north recently? WPB is amazing, it has a very definitive downtown and several high rises... certainly much higher than anything in Coral Gables.

I recommend you take a drive up Federal Highway from Miami to West Palm and you tell me which cities stand out the most. That's the most effective indication of nice skylines.

As a proud resident of the City Beautiful, I take offense to your remark about Coral Gables. Although Miami is undoubtedly the best city in South Florida, (and my favorite by a long shot), Coral Gables is overall the nicest city in SoFla when it comes to the community itself. There is absolutely no poverty in the Gables and it has some of the highest mean home values of any city in the tri-county area. It has a great skyline that is very dense.....have you been down here lately? Drive around Biltmore Way/Coral Way/Downtown Coral Gables area and you will see that it's one of the most pedestrian-friendly places in South Florida with the Coral Gables streetcar, metrorail, and the great urban atmosphere. It has several high-rises between 15-25 floors in the downtown area and it has some of the best Mediterranean architecture in South Florida, if not the best. It even has some waterfront areas in the southeastern part of the Gables. I just drove through West Palm Beach last month on the way to Jacksonville. I-95 was closed down due to a huge accident near Okeechobee Road, so I got a nice good tour of Palm Beach's downtown area. West Palm has some nice development going on, but the atmosphere is nothing compared to Coral Gables. Sure, it has some nice construction going on, but the buildings are no taller than the ones in downtown Coral Gables. I would not want to live in Palm Beach county because it's too far removed from the center of the action in South Florida, the one and only attraction: MIAMI. West Palm is undoubtedly the best area in Palm Beach County, and the most urban, but it has some nasty areas too. I saw more abandoned houses, suspicious-looking people, and ghetto-like areas while driving on Federal Highway just north of downtown West Palm than I have seen in Miami in a long time. Miami is on the upswing and the ghettos are disappearing, and in West Palm the crime rates are going up.

I have driven along A1A through Boca, just not recently....but it's a nice area, but nothing compared to Miami or Miami Beach......just because a city is not on the water doesn't mean it can't be good.....just look at Coral Gables, it's one of the best cities in SoFla and most of it is located away from the coast. BTW, the Gables has one of the densest cluster of high-rises in Dade County, almost as dense as downtown Miami.....meaning there aren't a lot of open spaces in the skyline and it flows very nicely.....take a ride on Metrorail south of downtown Miami into the Gables, and you can look north at the skyline of the City Beautiful. Palm Beach doesn't have any real tall buildings, the tallest looks like it's like 20-25 floors or something, and the Gables has about the same, but the buildings in the Gables are definitely more beautiful and architecturally stunning.

I would MUCH rather take the MAGIC CITY and the CITY BEAUTIFUL over the auto-oriented, suburbanite community of BOCA RATON (the "rat's mouth" of South Florida).

As far as Coral Springs, OK, I'll put that at about the same level as Boca, it's not very impressive either and is a place I'd never live, just like with Boca.

BOCA RATON is a nice place for South Florida to have, it's a great suburban community. But I can't beleive you would say it's better than Coral Gables. Coral Gables has better restaurants, retail, office buildings, and architecture. In another thread it talks about world-class cities and how it doesn't necessarily depend on the skyline of the city. The atmosphere is much better in the Gables than it is in Boca. I've been there before and I have seen all of the buildings that are going up now. I know about what Boca is and what it's about. It's a great place that's better than the suburbs of most other major American cities, but I hold my point of view that there are at least 8-10 better cities/municipalities in South Florida and that Miami is #1.

Why don't you check out Coral Gables soon so you can see what it's like??

I will try to take some nice shots of Coral Gables so you can see how great it is.

[floridian-will]

Wow you only saw SOME ghetto area's in WPB? WPB is having a really hard time with crime. Gables is definately a cleaner, more pleasent city. While the skyline in WPB may be nicer, gables is premere.

[coruna]

You're right.....SOME is an understatement......the northern section of West Palm Beach as well as areas like Riviera Beach are almost completely ghettos. While Miami's crime rate is decreasing and the ghettos are dissappearing, the opposite is happening to WPB. WPB is the best city in Palm Beach County, but Coral Gables is the cleanest, most elegant city in South Florida, and Miami is the best city overall at #1 because of the skyline, the nightlife, and attractions, and it is getting cleaner and safer with less crime.

[DShoost88]

Coruna--> I'm not going to lie... it's been a couple years since I've been down to Coral Gables, just as I imagine it's been a few years since you've been to central Boca. I'm a local to my respective community, and you're a local to yours--and no matter how much we debate it, we'll never convince the other that where we live is better. I dig it. And I also understand now what you said aboug Gables vs. WPB. I can agree with that.

I don't know so much about WPB being the best city in Palm Beach County... I sorta feel like that's saying Hialeah's the best city in Dade. Yes, it's big, and it has some big urban buildings, but I don't see it competing with Boca. Anytime I drive there it's w/ the doors locked and the windows rolled up--hide the jewelry and secure the wallet on your body. How does that make a city great?

But back to Boca.... I'll look for some photos to take.

[coruna]

The central area of WPB right near the intercoastal waterway was pretty nice.....there is some good construction going on there and the area looks nice and pedestrian-friendly, near a Tri-Rail station, and it's safe.....but the majority of the other parts of WPB are in bad condition and are not a good city at all. But it's not like saying Hialeah is the best city in Dade county, what are you talking about? Big with urban buildings? Sure, Hialeah has more than most cities in South Florida, and it has a big population, but Miami has hundreds of times more skyscrapers and urban buildings. Miami has more people living in it and it's the king of urban design and skyscrapers in all of South Florida.....I agree with what you're saying, but in no way is Hialeah a bigger city than Miami, so it's incorrect that you say it would be like saying Hialeah's the best city in Dade county.

I haven't actually spent much time in central Boca since 2005, I'm sure it's changed some, but I have the general idea of it.....it's a very nice city but once again it loses points because of the auto-centric, suburbanite lifestyle that is found there.

[DShoost88]

touche.