Nestled north of Miami between Aventura and Hollywood, about 20 minutes from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, the quiet 4.4-square-mile coastal town of Hallandale Beach is having its moment.

A cool billion dollars’ worth of new development is ongoing in the city, reports the Hallandale Beach Community Development Agency. Along with its popular sandy beaches, acclaimed dining and lively nightlife scene, the town has rolled out a wave of upscale residential developments.

The result: A hitherto little-known town has begun to appear prominently on the radar of investors, luxury home buyers and jet setters across the globe. It’s all quite a change for a city that didn’t even settle on its current name until a few months prior to Y2K.

A look at the particulars of this development boom begins at Slate Hallandale Beach. Delivering New York City-like style to Southeast Florida, the 26-story high-rise was developed by Ari Pearl’s PPG Development.

Part of a half-billion-dollar makeover of the Diplomat Golf Resort & Tennis Club to include a hotel and new Greg Norman-designed 18-hole golf course, Slate established a new benchmark for rental developments in Hallandale Beach. It features more than 20,000 square feet of amenities, including tennis courts, golf simulator, wine cellar with personal storage for residents, concierge, valet and fully loaded fitness facilities with Pilates equipment, Hydrow rowers and more.

“Hallandale Beach has always been a desirable location full of possibility,” Pearl says. “But [it] never had a development of this caliber, offering expansive, resort-inspired amenities and stylish modern residences combined with the convenience and flexibility of living in a rental community.”

Classy condominiums

Along with this trend-setting rental development, Hallandale Beach also offers options for luxe condominium buyers.

For instance, KAR Properties’ 38-story glass tower called 2000 Ocean, situated just north of South Florida’s Golden Beach, features multimillion-dollar full- and half-floor oceanfront homes incorporating three to five bedrooms. Set off by fountains, a waterfall and spectacular frondescence, Hallandale Oasis fills a full city block, offering a live-work-play setting combining 250 luxury condominium residences and more than 50,000 square feet of new commercial space unveiled last year.

Renters and buyers of upscale homes are of course eager to sample their home turf’s entertainment scene. So the city has taken the wraps off a few new glittering restaurant and nightlife concepts.

Breakwater Hospitality Group’s tented and open-air Carousel Club, featuring an emerald garden for lounging and lawn games, represents the newest entertainment mecca in Hallandale Beach. ETARU, a second-story restaurant, bar and terrace from Zuma restaurants’ creator Rainer Becker, serves up contemporary Japanese robatayaki grill cuisine to go with a panorama of dramatic waterfront views.

Time to unwind

The Hallandale beachfront has long given folks plenty of opportunity for relaxation and recreation. Soon they’ll have more. The new Greg Norman-designed 18-hole golf course will center a 127-acre development featuring an exclusive country club, luxury residences and a resort. The new Golden Isles Tennis Center will offer four clay and six hard tennis courts, four pickleball courts, two bocce courts and two basketball courts.

And as office tenants continue to pursue a post-Covid flight to higher-quality Class A buildings, they are enjoying new options in Hallandale Beach.

With Blanca Commercial Real Estate as its leasing representative, Optima Onyx, the newest tower in the city’s three-tower state-of-the-art office development known as Optima Towers, has become home to investment management firms, banks and medical office companies, among others.

Put it together, and you have today’s Hallandale Beach, Fla. Given all the town has going on, it looks like those quiet 4.4 square miles won’t be quiet much longer.