Doral: The Fastest Growing City in Florida

By: Ismael Rodriguez

Growing rapidly from an obscure warehouse district encased in the suburbs just northwest of Miami International Airport to the fastest growing city in Florida, Doral has become a playground for international buyers, big businesses and real estate developers alike.

Florida International University’s Metropolitan Center, which analyzes U.S. Census data, reported that Doral has become the 11th fastest growing city in the country, rising by 26.1 percent—12,000 residents—from 2010 to 2016. The rapid growth in population, which now reaches about 58,000 residents, has also led to a strong demand for the construction of new homes in and around the area.

“Doral’s central location, as well as other amenities, such as good schools, low crime rate and low property tax rate, make it a very desirable place to live,” Maria D. Ilcheva, a senior researcher at the Metropolitan Center, told the press. “However, the housing affordability and traffic may be a significant for most families and workers.”

Ilcheva referred to the past decade, which has seen Doral approve 50 real estate projects totaling 23,233 residential units, including a cluster of condos, town homes, single-family homes and rental apartments to accommodate the rapidly-growing population.

And despite being in the shadows of nearby Wynwood, Brickell and South Beach, this quiet city, within the past two years, has debuted Downtown Doral and CityPlace, two modernized urban centers offering upscale restaurants, retail shops and entertainment venues, to accommodate a booming interest from the general population.