Community Background Report

Village of Virginia Gardens

County

Miami-Dade

Boundaries

See interactive map

Community Type

Municipality

History

In 1947, the city of Miami Springs passed an ordinance that outlawed horses within city limits. Fifty residents, mostly wealthy transplants from Virginia, decided to break away and form their own city. The Village of Virginia Gardens was incorporated on July 10, 1947, when Judge Marshall C. Wiseheart swore in J.E. Hardy as its first mayor. For years, the Village played host to large estates suitable for horse ownership. In the 1960s, in order to accommodate growing air travel, the Miami-Dade Port Authority took 450 acres of land in Virginia Gardens for airport use. Much like its neighbor, Miami Springs, Virginia Gardens became tied to the airport, and today is home to many airport facilities, including flight training academies. The large estates have been converted into typical suburban developments to accommodate more residents. Only a single 1-acre residential property remains.

Community Dynamics

The Village of Virginia Gardens is a relatively small municipality, with a total population of 2,957 residents, according to the American Community Survey 2015 5-year estimate. The median age in the Village is 39.2 years, and the median household income is $50,573. The median property value in 2015 was $227,800. Hispanics make up 82.4% of the population, and non-Hispanic Whites account for 16.5%. There is a relatively large Pakistani population, and the second most common non-English language spoken at home is Urdu.

Virginia Gardens briefly opposed the two billion dollar expansion of Miami International Airport, citing as a major concern the increased noise generated by the addition of a fourth runway. Residents also had objections to the $11.2 million “noise barrier” built next to the Village. Their major objection to the project was that it did not adequately lessen the noise produced by Miami International Airport. The Virginia Gardens area has fourteen capital improvement projects, either planned, underway or completed, which include resurfacing, dredging and drainage projects.

Business Landscape

The Virginia Gardens economy has benefited from Miami-Dade County’s position as an air transportation hub, and its close proximity to Miami International Airport has served to grow the Village’s economy and attract jobs and clients to its businesses. Boeing and Pam Am have both made Virginia Gardens the location of their flight training schools. Televisa International, the largest media company in the Spanish-speaking Americas, also bases one of its headquarters in the Village.

Transportation Characteristics

The Village is largely composed of residential, single-family homes with quiet, tree-lined streets. There is a commercial strip along the major roadway, NW 36th Street, and another small commercial cluster along Curtis Pkwy.