As has been the case with Wynwood and the Miami Design District, many of the long-abandoned spaces dotted throughout Miami’s urban core have seen regeneration at the hands of savvy developers who have one eye on the strong cultural reputation the Magic City is building. With 70 tenants set over some 100,000 square feet, Ofer Mizrahi’s Miami Ironside is an emerging district accommodating everybody from artists and designers to creators and gallerists.
Located in the historic Upper Eastside Palm Grove neighbourhood, an area known for its Miami Modern architecture, mid-century hotels, and pavement café lifestyle, Miami Ironside’s burgeoning community is home to Ironside Kitchen, a hip space to experience authentic Neapolitan pizza (which comes highly recommended by Team We Heart); lush botanical gardens, hosts to the largest private collection of Rainbow Eucalyptus trees in the region; and stop-you-in-your-tracks, colourful (and some of the only) pieces of the Berlin Wall in the United States, repainted by distinguished street artist—and proclaimed original artist to paint the Wall—Thierry Noir.
An active leader in Miami’s development with an eye for a forward-thinking style of its future, Mizrahi’s vision for Ironside is ambitious, with plans for a 15-storey high rise tower and hotel designed by the much-lauded Ron Arad—a new cultural hub for the city with piazzas, open and transparent residential and hybrid spaces, an outdoor cinema, and cafés and restaurants. Says Arad of Ofer Mizrahi: “Is it an oxymoron to say an idealistic developer? Anyway he might be one.”
With a commitment to sustainability—using recycled and upcycled materials to protect eco-systems and provide wildlife habitats, whilst reducing overall energy consumption; its biodynamic organic gardens composting waste from the restaurants—Miami Ironside offers a progressive and pioneering template for the future of urban development. A vibrant mixed-use cultural centre for locals and visitors to eat, learn, create, and play, Miami Ironside might be off the beaten track at present, but its future is destined to be the heart of it.
Photography © We Heart / courtesy, Miami Ironside / courtesy, Limited Edition Caffe
