Howard Weinberg, Mayor, City of Aventura

Invest: Miami sat down with Howard Weinberg, mayor of the city of Aventura, to discuss smart growth, mobility, and the city’s push to expand access to public education. “Our vision is smart development, and we recognize the fact that our community is also attracting young families,” Weinberg said.

How could you define the city’s strategic vision for growth and quality of life over the next few years?

Aventura has always been focused on smart development. We also recognize that property owners have rights based on zoning. People sometimes want the city to simply say no, but you cannot do that when someone has the right to build.

What we can do is treat property owners as development partners. We collaborate so the result is better than what could be built as of right. Ideally, the community gets something that fits the city’s standards, and the developer recognizes it as a win-win when we work together.

Our vision is smart development, and we recognize the fact that our community is also attracting young families. One of the biggest reasons is our municipal charter school system. Families want to live in Aventura because students can attend an A-rated school close to home, from K through 12, and that has become a major quality-of-life advantage.

You mentioned the charter schools. What is the plan for expanding capacity, and why is it such a priority?

When I ran for mayor, the most significant promise I made was that I would find a way to build another school. We are only 3.5 square miles, and much of that is water, so land is limited, and the city does not own large parcels.

Demand for our schools is extremely high. We use a lottery system because it is random, fair, and transparent, and we do not put our thumb on the scale for anyone. The waiting list has reached around 1,500 children at times. We break hearts every year.

In my first year as mayor, we acquired about three acres of land from Gulfstream with an appraised value of around $30 million at no cost to the city, and we also acquired an additional 0.7 acres. In total, we have 3.7 acres to build on.

We have hired the architect and general contractor, and the plan is to build a new Don Sofer High School on the new site. The new campus will be larger and designed for how students learn today, with more room for classrooms, collaboration spaces, and student activities.

The new high school would expand capacity from roughly 800 students to about 1,000 students. Then the existing high school building becomes a middle school for grades 6 through 8, and the existing K-8 campus becomes an elementary school for K through 5. That structure creates three schools, increases capacity, and allows us to hire a superintendent of schools as the system grows.

Our goal is to have the best public education system in the state of Florida, and we are building the capacity to match demand.

Aventura is known for innovation in mobility and transit. How do you view transportation planning as part of the city’s broader development strategy?

Mobility is critical because traffic is a real challenge. Aventura sits in the middle of a major regional movement. Biscayne Boulevard carries north-south traffic between Miami-Dade and Broward, and the Lehman Causeway brings east-west traffic to the beach. Aventura is often a drive-through city.

We do not control many of the major corridors, and those roads involve the county and the Florida Department of Transportation. So our focus is on the pieces we can influence.

Freebee is a great example. I brought it to Aventura as a commissioner, and it has grown because residents use it. We recently secured a grant for additional vehicles. The goal is to reduce the need for residents to drive for short trips within the city, which supports quality of life and reduces pressure on the local network.

Another major priority is the Brightline pedestrian bridge connection. It can take longer to get from Aventura to the station than it takes to ride the train to downtown Miami. A safe pedestrian link from the mall area would make it easier for residents, commuters, and workers at major destinations to use transit.

We also want the commuter component that shares the corridor. Brightline is a premium product. For a daily commute, the region needs an affordable option with monthly pricing that makes sense for everyday workers.

How is Aventura leveraging collaborations with developers, businesses, and institutions to deliver value for residents?

I am a huge believer in P3s. The new school effort is a clear example. We acquired significant land value through a partnership approach, and we reached an agreement that supports both the city’s needs and long-term development clarity for the private partner.

More broadly, I believe in working with, not against, developers. When you work through compromise, you typically get a better end product and more value for residents.

That is also the framework behind Hero Housing. We negotiate added density, and in return, developers provide half-price luxury units for our police and teachers. The benefit should be in the cost, not reduced quality, and it should be imperceptible whether someone is in a Hero Housing unit or not.

We have not built Hero Housing units yet. We have agreements in place, but development timing depends on the market, financing, and construction costs. As projects move forward, Hero Housing will come online. We also ask development partners to contribute toward civic priorities, including the cost of building the new high school.

Looking ahead, what major trends do you see shaping Aventura’s future, and what are your top priorities for the next few years?

My top priorities are getting the new school built and opened, and getting the pedestrian bridge completed. Those projects directly affect education access, mobility, and everyday quality of life.

I am also pushing for safer, non-vehicular connections across key corridors. I want a protected pedestrian walkway across the Lehman Causeway so residents can safely reach the beach by walking or biking, and we continue pushing the Florida Department of Transportation to move that forward.

We want to continue delivering strong value to residents, including maintaining a low tax rate while expanding recreation and community amenities. Demand is high for parks, fields, and courts, and I would like the city to acquire more land for recreation.

Aventura continues to attract both young families and active adults. We have to serve residents across all ages, and that means being thoughtful about education, mobility, recreation, and services.

We also see continued investment interest, from professional services to healthcare and retail. New restaurants and amenities keep opening, and that reinforces the city’s appeal for residents and visitors. Our responsibility is to keep guiding growth through smart development so projects add to the quality of life, not strain it, and to ensure that the value residents receive matches what they expect when they choose Aventura.