Miramar is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States. It is a suburb of the Miami metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 134,721, making it the fourth-largest city in Broward County, the sixth-largest city in the Miami metro area, and the 14th-largest city in Florida.
Miramar was founded by A.L. Mailman to serve as a "bedroom community" for nearby Miami and Fort Lauderdale. Mailman bought the original property he was to develop from H.D. Perry Sr. in 1953. He built 56 homes on the property that were inexpensive homes of concrete and flat roofs. These homes sold quickly because of the low cost of both the homes and the land, and the city of Miramar came into being.
The city was incorporated on May 26, 1955, and was named for the Miramar area of Havana, Cuba where Mailman had a summer home (translates to "look at the sea" in Spanish). At the time of incorporation, the city had a population of less than 200 people. With approximately 2.9 square miles of land area, Miramar's original city boundaries were Southwest 64 Avenue on the east, University Drive on the west, the Dade County line on the south, and Pembroke Road on the north. On June 20, 1955, the city's first mayor (Gordon) and city council were sworn in, all of whom were appointed by the governor and served until January 1959, at which time the first municipal election was held. Mayor Robert Gordon is the individual who is attributed to have given the city its name. The city seal is inscribed with the motto "Beauty and Progress".
H.D. Perry Sr.'s part in Miramar did not cease with selling the land to Mailman for development. He is recognized as one of the pioneers in the history of Miramar. His character and civic-activities influenced not only the lives of early residents but continues to the present day, as evidenced by the schools and parks in the city which bear his family's name. Many long-time residents fondly recall the community barbecues hosted by Mr. and Mrs. Perry during those early years. Others are grateful to Mr. Perry for the lessons in animal husbandry, which he conducted for the benefit of Miramar's youth so that they could learn something of farm life.
The only major roads when Miramar was developed were U.S. 441 which was a two-lane road at that time, Hallandale Beach Boulevard to Southwest 66 Terrace and Pembroke Road which was a dirt road to University Drive. There were no other transportation routes of any kind supplying access to the new community. Miramar's early city fathers advocated the philosophy of planned and controlled growth. The city adopted a Comprehensive Land Use Plan in 1972 before cities and counties were mandated to do so. This provided the framework for the orderly development of future growth. Two-thirds of the land within city limits is currently undeveloped.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 31.3 square miles (of which 29.5 square miles (is land and 1.8 square miles ((is water.
A 2017 study put the city in fifth place for US cities most vulnerable to coastal flooding, with 93,000 residents living within FEMA's coastal floodplain.
The city is bordered by the following municipalities:
To the north:
To the northeast:
To the east:
To the south:
As of 2000, Miramar had the fifth highest percentage of Jamaican residents in the United States, with 15.4% of the population, the 58th highest percentage of Colombian residents in the US, at 2.51% of the city's population, and the 48th highest percentage of Cuban residents in the US, at 8.77% of the city's population. It also had the 78th most Dominicans in the US, at 1.98%, while it had the 31st highest percentage of Haitians (with West Little River), at 6% of all residents. Miramar's Trinidadian community had the 12th highest percentage of residents, which was at 1.2% (with Wheatley Heights, New York, and Neptune City, New Jersey).
Spirit Airlines moved to Miramar from Eastpointe, Michigan, in November 1999. JL Audio and Arise Virtual Solutions are also headquartered in Miramar.
The Leadership in Energy & Environment Design in Miramar houses the Federal Bureau of Investigation (Miami field office and a General Services Administration (office; named after two FBI agents who died in the 1986 FBI Miami Shootout, it is a 330,000 square feet (Leadership in Energy & Environment Design (facility located on a 20-acre (site. The FBI field office, previously in North Miami Beach, moved to Miramar on December 8, 2014. The building was dedicated on April 10, 2015.
According to Miramar's 2016 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city were:
The Miramar Cultural Center and ArtsPark was created to celebrate creativity and diversity within the city. Located in the heart of the Miramar Town Center, situated adjacent to City Hall and centrally located, the center is visible and accessible from Red Road, Miramar Boulevard and Hiatus Road and features ample free parking on-site.
The Miramar Branch Library Education Center's collection consists of over 80,000 items in all media and genres. The library also offers video games in several PlayStation, Xbox and Wii formats. Other features include a 100-seat multi-purpose room, conference room, group study room, several tutoring rooms and over 50 public computers and printed with instruction and special software available in its Computer Center.
The Miramar Regional Park Amphitheater provides an opportunity for live concert performances and outdoor entertainment to be housed and produced in a uniquely developed venue in South Florida. An open-air venue that will seat 5,000 people (covered canopy; 2,000 grass area), it is also used for film and television production. Amenities includes a ticket booth, electronic signage, lakes, and fountains.
Miramar is served by Broward County Public Schools.
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami operates Catholic schools. Saint Bartholomew Catholic School is in Miramar.
Saint Stephen Catholic School opened in 1956. It opened in the 1950s and closed in 2009, with the building rented to a charter school.
On June 20, 1955, the city's inaugural mayor and city council were sworn in, all having been appointed by the Governor of Florida. They all served until the city's first municipal elections were held in 1959.
The city's current mayor is Wayne Messam.
Miramar currently operates under a councilmanager government.
Up until March 13, 1991, the city had previously operated under the "strong mayor" form of the mayorcity council form of government. In 1989, by unanimous accord of the mayor and the Miramar City Commission, work was laid to study changing to a councilmanager form of government. On March 14, 1990, Miramar voters approved a referendum to change to this form of government.