Miami Lakes Business Park West is home to quite a few notable companies.
As you travel south along Northwest 79th Court/Bob Graham Parkway from Miami Lakes Drive, Parkside Corporate Center is on the west side. It has four buildings that are southeast of the Park Centre Shops and is next to Veterans Park, where office workers go for lunch.
At the very end of the parkway is Governors Square, which has three office buildings named for former Florida governors: Andrew Jackson, Spessard Holland and Leroy Collins. A fourth office building being built will be named for former Gov. and U.S. Sen. Bob Graham.
All the buildings at these two campuses are owned by The Graham Companies, which 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.
It also oversees signage, paint colors and landscaping at existing structures. There is a substantial tree canopy in the neighborhood.
Major companies -- including Toshiba, Energizer and Randstad – are tenants.
There are also 10 law firms; The Arc of South Florida which serves people with developmental and intellectual disabilities; medical suppliers; computing services; food importer Balboa Sun and employment agencies.
The U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services occupies two offices.
JetStream Federal Credit Union’s headquarters is in Governors Square.
Tabatha Cirgenski, the director of marketing, said Miami Lakes is a central destination for employees commuting from Miami or Broward County.
“I think the location was one of the top priorities in relocating, as well as the ability to tailor the location to our needs,” Cirgenski said. “The highway does make it quite easy to get here for work or for business meetings.”
JetStream has been in business since 1948. Seven years ago, it moved across town and into this neighborhood. It is close to the Palmetto Expressway and Interstate 75.
Cirgenski said the company’s office -- which has views of cows grazing in pastures and Graham Dairy Lake -- does not get a lot of foot traffic. The credit union plans to remain in the neighborhood unless it needs to expand in the future.
“We’re looking forward to seeing how the area develops,” Cirgenski said.
This article is the second in a series about this neighborhood which will be explored further in future reports.