By now, if you don’t already know that North Miami Beach is the invisible step-child of northeast Miami-Dade County, you’ve been living under a rock. The real estate motto of “location, location, location” does not apply here since, although our locality is near perfect, in terms of desirability we aren’t even on the map.
If you doubt me, think about how many businesses in North Miami Beach use NMB in their names as opposed to, say, “Aventura.”
We lucked out with the NMB Ale House, but very few others actually incorporate our city’s name in theirs. The North Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce (which is one of them for obvious reasons) lists three others, aside from the Ale House. Those are North Miami Beach Dental, North Miami Beach Tennis Center and South Florida Work Force/One Stop North Miami Beach. The Chamber’s directory also lists North Miami Beach Senior High School, but that’s not even located within our city limits. The school is on county property.
The Aventura Honda and Aventura Dodge car dealerships at 163rd Street and West Dixie Highway are actually in North Miami Beach. A martial arts studio in NMB is called American Top Team Aventura. There’s also Aventura Learning Center located in the heart of North Miami Beach.
If that’s not humiliating enough, Blue One Realty is advertising our future showcase development, Marina Palms, as being located in … AVENTURA!
WTF?
It’s not as if Aventura is without blemish. A scathing article just published in the Biscayne Times called Aventura, City of Pettiness, tells how Aventura will go to any length to avoid negative publicity. Even when it’s public knowledge. The city lost a huge lawsuit in the amount of $155,737,000.00 to a teacher at its charter school who sued for “wrongful termination and harassment.” But according to the article, the city attorney threatened local historian, FIU teacher and author Seth Bramson’s publisher for attempting to include the details of that lawsuit in a book he was writing about Aventura. The BT article is an eye-opening account about how obsessively determined the city’s officials are to protect its brand. For example, how many businesses in Aventura do you think use the name “North Miami Beach?” I’m guessing, um, NONE!
North Miami Beach, on the other hand, is in the process of “re-branding” our city’s name. Hopefully, that re-branding will eventually lead to increasing our desirability and, yes, our visibility in our corner of the county. With the development of upcoming projects, such as the Marina Palms on Biscayne Boulevard (WHICH IS LOCATED IN NORTH MIAMI BEACH – NOT AVENTURA!) and Parkview Business Center on West Dixie Highway, we have a shot at getting back on the map.
For now, however, we are apparently still invisible.
Author Seth Bramson also wrote a book about NMB called From Farms and Fields to the Future: The Incredible History of North Miami Beach.
The Biscayne Times article about Bramson cited “his well-regarded histories of the Florida East Coast Railway and of South Florida cities, such as Miami Beach, Hallandale Beach, and the Curtiss-Bright cities of Hialeah, Miami Springs, and Opa-locka…,” but not one mention of his book about North Miami Beach.
Opa-locka? Seriously?
Um, yeah. Need you ask?
Stephanie Kienzle
“Spreading the Wealth”
To be fair, North Miami Beach is actually landlocked but we shamelessly continue to lead hapless tourists to believe we have a shoreline. People tweet that they are in North Miami Beach when they are firmly planted in Sunny Isles because, strictly speaking, they are. They drove up A1A from South Miami Beach, never turned left or right and 15 miles later ….well, where would you think you were? We have former councils to thank for all of this. You know, those celebrated citizens from “the good old days”. Back to the future, we can do our part but we need Aventura, Sunny Isles and Miami-Dade County to “lean-in” with us on the 163rd corridor. As aptly pointed out by Stephanie, it speaks for all of us.
With out a doubt this new generation of NMB leaders will march us into “notable”. They have their work cut out for them, but hiring the city manager who was involved in the creation of Palmetto Bay from the beginning was a very wise choice. This team in place seems to have great ideas and re-branding is an investment we can’t do without. While SIB has incredible residential real estate where’s their community? Aventura, what do they have, a mall? NMB can and will have more to offer in time. Who would’ve thought Midtown would amount to the success it has? Buckle your seat belt Stephanie, because as the Dolphins so aptly coined the phrase “It’s Our Time”. That team will be number 1 again and so will NMB.
Keep drinking the kool aid nmb pride. These people are the same ones turned the construction site at 173 and Biscayne into an eyesore for several years because it ruined someone’s view of the sunset. How long did that crane hang over the top of Houstons restaurant? Those buildings should have been completed and and occupied by thousands of tax paying citizens years ago. A decision made by the same leaders that still occupy the mayor and council seats today. Fresh new leaders? Sorry to burst your bubble but no it’s just the same old people who care about nothing but their own neighborhood.
True indeed. Isn’t it amazing what short and convenient memory spans some people have? These same people will have you believe that this project was killed by the economy, conveniently forgetting all of the litigation, and the payments by this project, to the tune of tens of thousands, which were then in turn used to finance campaigns, pay for glossy smear flyers sent out by a mysterious group located in Coconut Grove, and hire fake, mercenary “Friends of the Oleta River” (yes, the same ones who have been hired to fight the hotel;) The winners could then forever stall this project. But fate has a funny way of showing us how small we all are, regardless of how much we may think otherwise.
Oh please. You can keep drinking your Kool Aide wherever you live. Obviously you don’t live in NMB and if you do, we don’t need your stinkin downer mentality. Boca Developers went bankrupt, how crazy are you to think that this development would have went up without getting sucked down their free fall. Also, there are one maybe two leaders that might have been around back then, but the rest? The city is moving forward and I’m here to cheer them on regardless of where they live as if that has anything to do with that. Remember Kurzman, Littman and Marin, they lived there too. I guess you have issues with most elected officials then.
For those of us who have been here long enough, may I remind you that the “NMB Ale House” sign is a re-do. The original sign read Aventura Ale House, but because this business always customizes their sign, staff saw it coming and placed a condition in their development agreement stating that this location could not be called anything but “NMB”. Even then, they went ahead and spent thousands of dollars on a different sign, thinking the city would just let them pretend they were somewhere else. So as you can see, it was not luck, but the hard work of staff which got us the right name.
Wow! I did not know that. Thanks for that information. The staff should be commended!
Stephanie, Do you think everyone that posts on your blog has facts? It could be, but like I said look at the car dealership and Aventura Learning Center in NMB. I guess the staff was selective back then.
Staff should have this on their radar. Any business coming into NMB choosing a name with a city other than ours should be given to the mayor, manager or even the President of the Chamber of Commerce to try and persuade them to start a respectful community relationship here by including our name, but surely not another city for goodness sake.
Nmb pride you definitely post here without facts. Please do your homework. One or two people from back then? More like one or two “fresh leaders” if that’s what you want to call them. I’d say it’s a stretch to call them that.
Guest, your words,”A decision made by the same leaders that still occupy the mayor and council seats today.” Really can’t think that any leaders from back when are still occupying council seats. Maybe you should state the names. They’re all gone except perhaps two. What difference doesn’t it make anyway, the project is moving forward. Better to look ahead than in the past because the past wasn’t too rosy. If you want to base your comments on what happened in 2006 what about what happened all the years before that when we just sat here doing nothing. Your comments sound like you have an ax to grind. Why don’t you do it somewhere else why we here look forward to a prosperous future.
What did I say about the posters not having the facts. Now it went from Aventura Ale House to Miami Ale House. Miami makes more sense, of course NMB was right on target. Moving right along.
The same staff that allowed Aventura Auto Gallery in NMB to have their name? Give me a break. Never heard that story, but okay whatever. Ale House is pretty old and not many businesses were looking at the Aventura name back them. I heard it was going to be the Ale House without the NMB.
For those keeping score and the new NMB Pride poster who sounds like the new CM, it was the Miami Ale House before it was the NMB Ale House
Well, “we twisted luck’s arm” said it was once called Aventura Ale House, that’s a far cry from Miami Ale House. Wow Guest, so the owners almost called it Miami Ale House. That is certainly a lot more digestible than Aventura, which was NEVER an option. At least Miami is in the city name North Miami Beach. Get over it and please don’t tell me I don’t have the facts, please don’t mistaken me for a politician either.
Oh sure, I’m the CM, aren’t you so not observant! And who really cares what the Ale House was once called, seriously get over yourself and all the knowledge you seem to have or think you have. What was, was. Someone sounds sour and can’t move on. I really hope you don’t live in this city.
Like I said. nmb pride has had a little to much of the kool aid. Incorrect on all items mentioned. Someone who obviously chooses to ignore facts. Must be a politician.
So let me understand what’s been said, implied… some people want the NMB government to decide what businesses can and can not call themselves in the city?
WTF?
I burst out laughing every time in hear how NMB wants to “rebrand” itself.
As a starter, just stop doing really stupid stuff, stop digging the hole that has been dug by 20-30 years of bad leadership that has saddled residents and businesses with high taxes, shitty services and stagnant property values.
And stop dicking around businesses, developers, investors, homeowners who are willing to put their money where their mouths are.
This council member wants a building to be a certain color… this one doesn’t like certain types of businesses… another wants NMB in the freakin name…
Stop it already! Basta ya!
I can’t speak for anyone else, but you missed my point entirely. I never even implied that NMB should dictate what businesses should call themselves. What I was stating flat out is that businesses don’t even want to be remotely associated with our city by using our name. They use the name Aventura for obvious reasons. The word “Aventura” attracts visitors and shoppers like bees to honey. NMB? Not so much.
new developments need to serve the community. NMB needs neither increased population nor the slew of cookie-cutter box stores.
Creative and community oriented solutions can bring the community together and increase the prosperity of the citizens.