Eileen Higgins has been elected as Miami’s next mayor, marking a significant shift in the city’s political landscape. Higgins is the first woman to serve as mayor of Miami and the first Democrat to hold the position since 1997. She defeated former City Manager Emilio Gonzalez, who had received an endorsement from former President Donald Trump. Higgins succeeds Republican Francis Suarez, who has led Miami since 2017 and played a key role in major developments such as the Miami Freedom Park mixed-use stadium project.
Both candidates pledged to address issues including streamlining the city’s permitting process, improving housing affordability, and tackling corruption at City Hall. As a former Miami-Dade County commissioner, Higgins supported projects that resulted in nearly 7,000 affordable and workforce housing units.
Campaign finance reports released after the November 4 election show that Higgins received almost ten times more contributions from real estate professionals, corporations, and land use attorneys than her opponent. A recent fundraiser for Higgins was co-hosted by law firm Bercow Radell Fernandez Larkin & Tapanes at Brightline Station in downtown Miami. Other hosts included Integra Investments developer Nelson Stabile, Adler Properties CEO Jonathan Raiffe, and Florida East Coast Industries executive Jose Gonzalez.
Additional contributors to her campaign included Jeff Berkowitz and his wife Yolanda; zoning lawyers Iris Escarra and Melissa Tapanes Llahues; Cervera Real Estate’s Alicia Cervera Lamadrid; land use attorney Anthony De Yurre; as well as several LLCs associated with Integra and Adler.
It remains to be seen whether Higgins will fulfill her promises related to housing development and permitting reform. The real estate industry is expected to closely monitor her administration.
In other South Florida real estate news:
A trust sold an 8,400-square-foot mansion at 5 Via Sunny in Palm Beach for $30 million to an LLC named after the property address.
Boston-based AEW Capital Management sold an office property known as Ryder Colonnade at 169 Coral Way in Coral Gables for $70.4 million to Crescent Real Estate of Fort Worth, Texas.
WeatherTech founder David MacNeil has listed his waterfront property at 1120 South Ocean Boulevard in Manalapan for $125 million. The site covers 3.5 acres with 342 feet of ocean frontage. MacNeil acquired portions of the property for $38.5 million in 2024 and $55.5 million earlier this year.
Additionally, most Citizens Property Insurance customers are likely to see lower premiums next year. Proposed rate reductions would benefit over three-quarters of policyholders in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties with cuts estimated between 12% and 13%, according to reporting by Sun Sentinel (https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2024/12/10/citizens-insurance-rates-could-drop-for-most-customers-in-2025-but-not-all-will-benefit/).
Research contributed by Mary Diduch.
