Aventura, Florida

History

Aventura began its development during the early 1970s. The area was initially referred to as Turnberry. Aventura became an incorporated city in 1995. The Aventura Police Department was formed in 1997.

Aventura is home to the luxury resort Turnberry Isle, where the yacht Monkey Business was docked during the Gary Hart/Donna Rice incident, which contributed to Hart ending his 1988 bid for presidency.

The Aventura Mall, the fifth-largest shopping mall in the US, is also located here,.

In early 2001, Former President Bill Clinton delivered one of his first speeches after leaving the White House at Aventura-Turnberry Jewish Center.

Media

Aventura has its own newspaper, Aventura News, which is published weekly and is part of the Miami Community Newspapers, The Voice of the Community. Aventura is served by the Miami–Ft. Lauderdale market for local radio and television. The city has a magazine named Aventura Magazine and is served by The Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald.

Geography

Aventura is located at 25°57′52″N 80°08′09″W.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.5 square miles (9.1 square kilometers). Of that, 2.7 sq mi (7.0 km²) is land and 0.8 sq mi (2.1 km²) of it (23.08%) is water.

Surrounding areas

  Hallandale Beach   Hallandale Beach Hallandale Beach   Ojus Golden Beach, Sunny Isles Beach North Miami Beach Sunny Isles Beach   North Miami Beach

Climate

Aventura has a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen climate classification Am) with hot and humid summers and short, warm winters, with a marked drier season in the winter. The city sees most of its rain in the summer (wet season) and is mainly dry in winter (dry season). The wet season, which is hot and humid, lasts from May to September, when it gives way to the dry season, which features mild temperatures with some invasions of colder air, which is when the little winter rainfall occurs-with the passing of a front. The hurricane season largely coincides with the wet season.

In addition to its sea-level elevation, coastal location and position just north of the Tropic of Cancer, the area owes its warm, humid climate to the Gulf Stream, which moderates climate year-round. A typical summer day does not see temperatures below 75 °F (24 °C). Temperatures in the high 80s to low 90s (30–35 °C) accompanied by high humidity are often relieved by afternoon thunderstorms or a sea breeze that develops off the Atlantic Ocean, which then allow lower temperatures, although conditions still remain very muggy. During winter, humidity is significantly lower, allowing for cooler weather to develop. Average minimum temperatures during that time are around 59 °F (15 °C), rarely dipping below 40 °F (4 °C), and the equivalent maxima usually range between 65 and 75 °F (18 and 24 °C).

Hurricane season begins June 1 and is officially over November 30. Aventura was severely hit by Hurricane Wilma on October 24, 2005 and was still undergoing recovery as of November 2011. The library was decimated and still yet to be rebuilt. Terraces flew off of high-rises and condos on high floors were flooded with many of their walls exploding into next-door apartments and adjacent hallways. Countless high-rise windows exploded and electricity stopped.

Demographics

In 2010, there were 26,120 households out of which 31.5% were vacant. As of 2000, 11.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.6% were married couples living together, 6.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 52.2% were non-families. 45.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 23.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.79 and the average family size was 2.45.

In 2000, the city population was spread out with 10.1% under the age of 18, 4.6% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 23.6% from 45 to 64, and 35.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 53 years. For every 100 females there were 80.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.9 males.

As of 2000, the median income for a household in the city was $44,526, and the median income for a family was $59,507. Males had a median income of $50,791 versus $37,682 for females. The per capita income for the city was $41,092. About 5.6% of families and 9.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.5% of those under age 18 and 8.5% of those age 65 or over.

Language and culture

As of 2000, speakers of English as their first language accounted for 59.92% of the population, while Spanish accounted for 22.63% of residents. Due to its large Jewish population, those who spoke Hebrew were at 3.66%, and Yiddish was spoken by 2.78% of the population. Other languages spoken include Portuguese 2.65%, French 2.40%, Russian 1.75%, and German at 1.46% of city residents.

Aventura is known for its substantial Jewish population, many of whom come from the Northeast (many from New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania). Besides American Jews, Aventura also has experienced a significant influx of Hispanic Jews (especially Argentine, Colombian, Cuban, and Venezuelan Jews,) Brazilian, Canadian, and European Jews (incl. French, Portuguese, and other Sephardic Jews,) as well as Israelis, also residing in the city.

As of 2000, Aventura had the seventeenth-highest percentage of Brazilian residents in the US, with 1.9% of the US populace. the thirtieth-highest percentage of Colombian residents in the US, at 4.25% of the city's population, and the ninety-second-highest percentage of Cuban residents in the US, at 2.89% of the city's population. It also had the twelfth-most Israelis in the US, at 2.4%, while it had the thirteenth-highest percentage of Romanians (tied with Hartford, Ohio and Bern, Pennsylvania,) at 1.8% of all residents. Aventura's Russian community had the twenty-fifth-highest percentage of residents, which was at 12.4%, while it was the thirteenth-highest Venezuelan community in the US, which made up 1.31% of the population.

Transportation

The Aventura Express shuttle bus is a city run public bus service, free to Aventura residents. Miami-Dade Transit's Metrobus and Broward County Transit bus systems also run through the city. Metrobus provide connections to Metrorail and Metromover at Government Center via Biscayne Boulevard/US 1. Aventura is one of Miami-Dade's most car-centric neighborhoods, and due to the increasing population growth over a 25-year period, traffic has become congested, despite the fact that Biscayne Boulevard (US 1) is up to ten lanes wide through the city. The intersection where Ives Dairy Road meets US 1 has been raised, but still creates a back up. Buildings in Aventura have large parking lots or garages that are often free, encouraging car use. For example, Aventura Mall has nearly 10,000 free parking spaces.

The main north-south road in the city is Biscayne Boulevard (US 1) and the main east-west route is the William H. Lehman Causeway. Although no interstates run through the city, I-95 is just five minutes away.

By 2015, Tri-Rail commuter rail service may run on the FEC line that runs parallel to Biscayne Boulevard through Aventura. Until then, Aventura has no other means of transportation other than roads. One of the proposed lines for the Miami Metrorail was a corridor that would follow US 1 from downtown Miami to the Dade-Broward County line between Aventura and Hallandale Beach.

Area attractions

The most famous shopping attraction is Aventura Mall, a 2,400,000 sq ft (222,967 m²) indoor shopping center. The outdoor malls are "Loehmann's Fashion Island", "Aventura Shopping Center", "Aventura Commons", "The Promenade Shops", and "The Shoppes at the Waterways".

The city also has its own exclusive parks and recreation department which operate Founders Park, Founders Park Bayside, Waterways Park, Waterways Dog Park, Veterans Park, The Community Recreation Center, and the new Liberal Arts theater.

In the center of the heart of Aventura is The Turnberry Golf Course encapsulated by Aventura's Country Club Drive Circle, a multimillion dollar horticultural three-mile walking/jogging paved promenade which overlooks lakes, opulent residential highrises, yachts and the Atlantic Ocean.

Education

Aventura is served by the Miami-Dade County Public Schools system. Aventura Waterways K–8 Center serves as the public K-8 school of MDCPS which serves Aventura. The school is located outside of the city limits but all children that live in Aventura are in the boundary for that school.

Dr. Michael Krop High School in unincorporated Miami-Dade County is currently the sole high school serving Aventura residents. In 2012, even though Krop had a strong academic reputation, some parents in the Aventura area were promoting the idea of the city starting a charter high school. The city council refused to go forward with the idea.

There is also a charter school established with sponsorship from the municipal government, Aventura City of Excellence School, a K-8 school. It was for years the only public school located within the City of Aventura. It is operated by a private charter school company called Charter Schools USA. It is an award winning school built and opened in 2003. The school was ranked in the top 10 of all schools in Florida in 2006. Children who live in Aventura are given admission preference during the admission lottery held every year. The school has an enrollment cap of 100 students per grade.

Regional universities and higher education institutions include:

Florida International University: Biscayne Bay Campus (North Miami)

The Northeast Branch of the Miami-Dade Public Library System serves Aventura.

Notable residents

Howard Metzenbaum, United States Senator representing Ohio in 1974, and then again from 1977 to 1995.

Jimmy Johnson, Dallas Cowboys 2 time Super Bowl Champion Cowboys and later Miami Dolphins Coach