Leisure City

One mystery will forever haunt the neighborhood of Leisure City — how did Edward Leedskalnin single-handedly carve over 1,100 tons of coral rock to build Coral Castle? The eccentric moved to Leisure City in 1936 when most of the area was farmland filled with oolite limestone deposits (the “coral rock” Leedskalnin used).

Over the years, the neighborhood has grown significantly around this unusual house on South Dixie Highway. Today, Leisure City attracts military families, especially those from the Homestead Air Reserve Base to the east, and medical staff from the nearby Baptist Health Homestead Hospital, says Realtor/loan originator Roxana Quintana with Equitable Company Realtors. “New construction and new shopping centers are the norm,” she says. Most homes are ranch-style, built between 1950 and 1985 with three or four bedrooms, others are midcentury modern, and a handful are two-story Spanish revival. Many of these homes feature architectural stone, backyard pools and large patios. They typically list for between $400,000 and $700,000. You’ll also see new town houses in communities like Cedar Pointe that sell in the $400,000s. Condominiums are also popular and a good investment starting at under $200,000 for two-bedroom units.

The schools that serve Leisure City offer well-respected programs for helping children become confident and capable adults, such as Campbell Drive K-8’s Cambridge International program or Redland Middle’s magnet programs, which won a Magnet Schools of America School of Excellence award. South Dade Senior High, too, features six distinct career academies, which include law studies and public safety; visual performing arts; sports and health science; and international finance, business and technology.

Named after a smaller, older community in the northwestern corner of the neighborhood, Modello Park features an open, expansive lawn where children can run free or kick around a soccer ball. In fact, you’ll find a lighted soccer field here with two basketball and tennis courts, a baseball field and a sand-cushioned playground with swings, slides and towers. The park’s recreation center offers fully supervised after-school programs and a summer camp. At Live Like Bella Park, a lake attracts white ibises and Muscovy ducks. Named after Bella Rodriguez Torres, a 10-year-old Miami-Dade girl known for her courageous battle with pediatric cancer, the park provides after-school programs and camps for children 6 to 14 at its new 5,200-square-foot community center. A baseball field, a covered playground, basketball courts and an outdoor fitness gym curve around the stunning lakefront.

Medical services are just over the Ronald Reagan Turnpike at Baptist Health Homestead Hospital. This full-service, 147-bed hospital features an emergency center, a separate children’s ER, a critical care unit, birthing suites and an acute inpatient rehabilitation unit. For necessities, residents have many options — you’ll find a Fresco y Más in the Flea Market Revelations Shopping Mall and a Publix and Walmart Supercenter at Waterstone Plaza. The neighborhood also has small shopping centers with markets, businesses and restaurants. One eatery not to miss is Shiver’s BBQ off South Dixie Highway. Family-owned and -operated, Shiver’s has been selling authentic hickory smoked barbecue for over 60 years to high acclaim. The pulled pork, for one, is smoked for 12 hours or more.

While rumors still fly about whether Edward Leedskalnin used ancient sciences (or maybe had help from extraterrestrials) to build Coral Castle, the neighborhood that grew around it is far from alien. It is a community where military families, medical personnel or anyone seeking the South Florida lifestyle can feel at home. Plus, the neighborhood is equidistant between Maimi and the Florida Keys, another important fact that attracts many leisure enthusiasts to this enchanting locality.

Written By

Hannah Rainey

Photography Contributed By

Yanan Sun

Video By

Victoria York