Miami Lakes, Florida

Miami Lakes, officially the Town of Miami Lakes, is an incorporated town in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The town is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,467.

History
The development was constructed by Sengra (now the Graham Companies) beginning in 1962 on land formerly owned by Florida state senator Ernest "Cap" Graham. The Grahams stated for many years that it would be a 30-year development, but they are still developing to this day.

The original Miami Lakes development, east of the Palmetto Expressway, was master-planned by Lester Collins with curving tree-shaded roadways and numerous curving lakes, which are unusual compared to most surrounding areas with their treeless streets on a square grid and rectangular lakes. This original development, which is on the east side of the more recently designated Town of Miami Lakes, has neighborhood shopping centers, tot-lot parks, and a town center named Main Street. A significant portion of Miami Lakes is still owned by the Grahams, mostly apartment buildings, shopping centers, office buildings, and undeveloped land. The town is an early model of the New Urbanism movement, with shopping and services located within walking distance of residences as well as narrow, walkable streets and plenty of neighborhood parks.

When it was incorporated in December 2000, the Town of Miami Lakes became the 31st municipality in Miami-Dade County. Miami Lakes is home to more than 1,100 businesses.

The Master Plan began over 50 years ago when the Graham family began the development of what was their dairy farm. Unlike many cities and towns created during the early 1960s, the Grahams decided to create a master plan for the city that would allow decades of growth, construction, and changing market conditions. Lester Collins, former dean of the Harvard School of Design, was enlisted to create a master plan for the area that would become the center of Miami Lakes. Collins laid the foundation for an integrated community, including residential, commercial, industrial, and mixed uses.

Former U.S. Senator Bob Graham, the younger half-brother of family patriarch William "Bill" Graham, is one of the owners, and Katharine Graham, the late publisher of the Washington Post, had a share by marriage. On December 5, 2000, Miami Lakes voted to become an incorporated town.

Geography
Miami Lakes is located 15 mi northwest of downtown Miami at 25.91167°N, -80.32507°W. It is bordered to the south and west by the city of Hialeah, to the east by the city of Miami Gardens, and to the north by the unincorporated community of Country Club.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town of Miami Lakes has a total area of 6.5 sqmi. 5.7 sqmi of it are land and 0.8 sqmi of it (13.05%) are water.

Climate
Miami Lakes has a tropical climate, similar to the climate found in much of the Caribbean. It is part of the only region in the 48 contiguous states that falls under that category. More specifically, it generally has a tropical rainforest climate (Köppen climate classification: Af), bordering a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen climate classification: Am).

2010 and 2020 census
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 30,467 people, 10,393 households, and 7,814 families residing in the town.

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 29,361 people, 9,533 households, and 7,050 families residing in the town.

2000 census
In 2000, 37.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.6% were married couples living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.9% were non-families. 20.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.75 and the average family size was 3.21.

In 2000, 25.1% of the population was under the age of 18, 7.2% was from 18 to 24, 34.9% from 25 to 44, 22.7% from 45 to 64, and 10.1% was 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.4 males.

-2013, the median income for a household in the town was $63,754 and the median income for a family was $68,431. Males had a median income of $45,759 versus $31,656 for females. The per capita income for the town was $28,867. About 3.8% of families and 4.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.1% of those under age 18 and 5.2% of those age 65 or over.

As of 2000, 72.41% of the population spoke Spanish at home, while 24.65% spoke only English. In addition, 0.67% of residents spoke Portuguese and 0.64% spoke Urdu.

Government
Since its incorporation in 2000, the Town of Miami Lakes operates under a council-manager form of government. The council-manager system combines the strong leadership of elected officials with the strong managerial experience of an appointed town manager.

The mayor's seat is elected at-large for a four-year term. As defined in the town's charter, the mayor shall preside at meetings of the council and be a voting member of the council. The town council is vested with all legislative powers of the town. The council consists of the mayor and six members.

As of 2024, the town council members are:
 * Mayor – Manny Cid
 * Councilmember Seat 1 and Vice Mayor– Tony Fernandez
 * Councilmember Seat 2 – Ray Garcia
 * Councilmember Seat 3 – Marilyn Ruano
 * Councilmember Seat 4 – Josh Dieguez
 * Councilmember Seat 5 – Luis E. Collazo
 * Councilmember Seat 6 – Bryan Morera

The Town of Miami Lakes held a grand opening and ribbon-cutting for its new town hall on April 23, 2013, located at the east end of Main Street.

On October 5, 2010, Nelson Hernandez became the youngest council member elected to the Miami Lakes Town Council at the age of 24, ever since the town's incorporation in 2000.

The Miami-Dade Police Department is under contract with the Town of Miami Lakes to perform law enforcement functions within the Town.

The Miami-Dade Fire Rescue operates Station 1 Miami Lakes & Station 64 Miami Lakes West.

Economy
Several companies are headquartered in Miami Lakes, including BankUnited, N.A.; one of the largest banking institutions in the United States.

Potamkin Auto Group, The Graham Companies, Fine Art Lamps, Pacer, New Generation Computing, South Florida ENT Associates, Inktel, Isaco International, Safari, 1st Financial, American Bancshares Mortgage, LLC, National Molding, Lotspeich and Oliva Cigar.

Public schools
Miami-Dade County Public Schools serves Miami Lakes.

K–8 schools

 * Bob Graham Education Center
 * Miami Lakes K-8 Center

Middle schools

 * Miami Lakes Middle School

High schools

 * Barbara Goleman Senior High School
 * Hialeah-Miami Lakes Senior High School

Magnet schools

 * Miami Lakes Educational Center

Private schools

 * Our Lady of the Lakes Catholic School

Parks and recreation
The Town of Miami Lakes has 100+ parks, mini parks, tot lots, green-ways and trails located throughout, including Miami Lakes Optimist Park, Veterans Park and Royal Oaks Park.

Veterans Memorial
Miami Lakes has a unique indoor veterans memorial located at the Royal Oaks Park Community Center. The memorial is a 50-foot-long mural that features a combination of two digitized paintings of military scenes throughout U.S. history, wood carvings, stained glass, and hand-made glass mosaics molded from leaves of Miami Lakes' trees. The centerpiece of the artwork consists of the seals from each of the US military service branches and the POW/MIA seal. The memorial was inaugurated on Memorial Day of 2011. The artists are Alfred Darmanin and Michelle Stecco.

The veterans memorial titled "V is for Veterans" was unveiled in front of Miami Lakes Town Hall on September 4, 2014. The artwork was created by Stephanie Jaffe Werner.

Public libraries

 * Miami Lakes Branch Library

Places of worship

 * Elevate Church
 * Hope at Miami Lakes Methodist Church
 * Miami Lakes United Church of Christ
 * Our Lady of the Lakes Catholic Church

Theaters and performance arts

 * Main Street Players is a local performing arts space producing live theatrical events using community talent and volunteers.

Festivals and events

 * Fourth of July Concert and Fireworks Show
 * Main Street Festival of Lights
 * Miami Lakes Cars for a Cure
 * Miami Lakes Farmers Market
 * Miami Lakes Food and Wine Festival
 * Miami Lakes Jingle Bell Jog
 * Nightmare on Montrose Halloween Event
 * Pumpkin Patch
 * Reindeer Run 5k
 * Spring Fling Easter Egg Hunt
 * Veterans Day Parade; the longest running Veterans Day Parade in all of Miami-Dade County.
 * Miami Lakes Culinary Bike Tour

Sports

 * Miami Lakes Bandits
 * Miami Lakes United Soccer Club

Media
The Miami Laker serves as the community newspaper for the town of Miami Lakes and surrounding areas in northwest Miami-Dade County.

Notable people

 * Joe Brady, American football coach
 * Humberto Brenes, Costa Rican professional poker player
 * Harry P. Cain, American politician
 * Adrian Cárdenas, American professional baseball second baseman
 * Harry Wayne Casey, American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer
 * Bob Graham, American lawyer, author and politician
 * Gwen Graham, American lawyer and politician
 * Don Shula, American professional football player and coach
 * Sara Sidner, American TV reporter