And down the stretch they go - Growth

South Florida CEO, August, 2003

The build out of South Florida's western cities is nearly complete, and as they reach saturation, developers are setting their sights elsewhere. Just look at the latest figures released by the US Census Bureau, which cover the years 2001 and 2002. Dropped from the Top 10 list of the nation's fastest-growing large cities (more than 100,000 residents) are Pembroke Pines and Coral Springs, two perennial favorites of the 1990s. Rising to fill their places are Weston and Miramar, both in the Top 10 for fastest growing cities with more than 50,000 residents. Of the two, don't expect to see Weston again; at 57,000 residents, it's just about finished. Miramar is another story. It grew from 40,663 in 1990 to 90,359 in 2002, and planners say it can grow to 150,000. The other future star is Homestead, south of Miami. That city, nearly washed away by Hurricane Andrew in 1992, has grown to nearly 34,000, up from 26,866 in 1990. Today the city is being "inundated" by residential development requests, says Mayor Roscoe Warren, who fears that municipal services will be overrun.--JB

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