Gladeview

“Simple, nice and family oriented” is how Carina Aisenstein, a Realtor with Beachfront Realty Inc., describes Gladeview. While the community has its share of fixer-uppers, homebuyers come to her showings ready to move in, not invest. “Ninety-nine percent are first-time homebuyers,” Aisenstein says, “These people are looking for a nice house and a quiet neighborhood.” Gladeview offers both.

Single-family homes in the area start as low as $190,000 and vary greatly. You’ll find cottages and small mission-style bungalows built in the 1920s mixed in with larger, midcentury-modern homes built in the 1950s and 1960s. New construction is also happening throughout the neighborhood, with vacant lots priced below $200,0000 and new homes, some with double the square footage of the average neighborhood house, selling for $615,000. Multifamily homes are also common and have become a popular home type for new construction. New “twin homes,” much like villas, are priced at $400,000 each, and new duplexes can range from $600,000 to $1 million depending on their size and number of units sold together. Something else to notice is that Gladeview residents prioritize their vehicles, so many home listings comment on the amount of off-street parking available for work vehicles or RVs.

Of the schools that serve the Gladeview, Liberty City Elementary encourages students to invest in their school and community by landscaping and painting murals on the property, part of a recent beautification effort. Brownsville Middle offers a criminal justice and law academy with its curriculum to introduce students to law practice through guest speakers and courthouse visits in Miami-Dade County. And Miami Northwestern Senior High provides magnet programs in medical and applied health science, performing and visual arts, and nursing. Adult students, too, can take advantage of the English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program and General Education Diploma (GED) offered at the D.A. Dorsey Education Center in the heart of Gladeview.

Named for the first African American woman elected to the Florida Legislature, Gwen Cherry Park is a community hub for youth, sports enthusiasts and active seniors. The park features basketball courts, a baseball diamond, a softball diamond, a 400-meter running track, a football field, a sun-shielded fitness zone with exercise stations and a 27,000-square-foot, NFL-sponsored recreation center. The center is home to programs designed to support at-risk youth and offers a library, computer rooms, arts and crafts rooms, a game room, and a 9,000-square-foot gymnasium. In addition, this 38-acre park has an amphitheater for concerts, a community pool with swimming lessons and a splash playground. A few other smaller parks are tucked away in the neighborhood, such as Northwest Highlands Park, which features another playground, a walking path and plenty of open grassy areas for picnics and community events; and Evans Park, part of the Lillie C. Evans Elementary School grounds, which has an open field as well as basketball courts and two handball courts.

Food and restaurants are easy to find in Gladeview. The neighborhood is long, with many businesses and services along the Northwest 79th Street business corridor. You’ll find a Walmart Supercenter on this road, as well as the Northside Metrorail Station, which connects Gladeview to Miami International Airport, Little Havana, Brickell and more. Head farther east on Northwest 79th Street, and you’ll find New Generation Supermarket, a full-service grocer specializing in quality meats, and within the same building is Laundromart, a coin-operated laundry. Go east again, and you’ll spot Snappers, a fish and chicken place that serves family-style meals as well as sandwiches, combos, platters and sides. If you turn right onto Northwest 17th Avenue, you’ll soon see Total Food Supermarket, and farther down is World Famous Ribs & Seafood, a neighborhood soul food joint where you can get good ribs, fried conch, chicken wings, yellow rice and green beans.

While Gladeview has its share of lots and fixer-uppers that draw investors, it is “not an Airbnb area,” Aisenstein says. The people who own homes here live in and value them. It’s a nice neighborhood to put down roots.

Written By

Christopher Kopczynski

Photography Contributed By

Eduardo Ford

Video By

Robert Edmonds