Miami Laker Luis Molina has watched Business Park West grow into what it is today: a two-mile stretch on the town’s west side that is home to a wide variety of businesses.
Molina owns Fantasy Designers at 14240 Palmetto Frontage Rd. The company has been in the area for two decades and specializes in producing weddings, parties and big events.
“We really like it,” Molina said. “It used to just be cows. Now we have [neighboring] buildings.”
The Graham Companies developed the office park in the 1980s. The Miami Lakes Architecture and Control Committee for Commercial properties enforces protective covenants for the design and height of new buildings.
Fantasy Designers is one of many companies based between Northwest 146th Street and Northwest 80th Avenue, bordered by Commerce Way and Northwest 77th Court.
There is an undeveloped field at Northwest 146th Street, owned by Carlos Herrera Jr., president of Fenix Construction, according to county records; the construction company is in a building that overlooks the green space.
Neighboring tenants include two pediatrician’s offices; ARC Mental Health and an insurance company.
The Orange Bowl Committee’s building is nearby on the frontage road, also called Orange Bowl Way in that section.
The organization -- and its high-powered board of business and political leaders -- oversees the annual New Year’s Eve Orange Bowl college football game, and also funds youth sports, athletic facilities and scholarships.
Other companies in the neighborhood include mortgage lenders 1st Financial; medical offices; The Angel Medical Research Company; telecommunications engineering firm draftPros; janitorial supply company Cosgrove Enterprises, Inc.; law offices and several information technology businesses.
Molina has been watching the area grow and says it’s a nice area, especially for his employees and clients.
“It’s convenient because its right between Dade and Broward,” Molina said, adding that the central location makes it easy to serve clients in both counties.
“It’s a nice area, it’s a good environment, we love that everything is clean,” Molina said.
This article is the sixth in a series about this unique neighborhood, which The Miami Laker will continue to explore in future reports.