8A WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2017
MiamiHerald.com MIAMI HERALD
INTERNATIONAL EDITION
TRAVEL
Exquisite Apartment on Miami Beach
Brixton Hill shows cool
doesn’t mean costly
BY GRACE BANKS
The New York Times
One of Miami Beach’s most luxurious residences, Akoya
architecture delivers amazing ocean views! Exquisite
amenities and residents who enjoy nothing but the best!
Amazing 3 bedroom and 2 and 1/2 Bathroom residence
with two balconies. One wrap around balcony, 2
assigned parking spaces built in 2004.
ADDRESS:
6365 Collins Ave,
Unit #4203,
Miami Beach, FL 33141
ASKING PRICE:
$2,100,000
Excellent location, 5 minutes away from Bal Harbor and
10 minutes from South Beach!
Akoya is the third tallest building in Miami Beach at
492 feet!! And today, one of the last very tall buildings
permitted in Miami Beach, topping neighboring
buildings by 200 feet high!
MAURICIO JALIL, MJ ESTATES, INC
(305) 984-8693
15PGA08.indd 8
[email protected], www.MJEstates.com
It’s no secret that Brixton, in the district of South
London, has changed over
the past decade. Once a
neighborhood known for
the shops, markets and
food stalls of Brixton Village that reflected the cultural flavor of its multiracial residents, today in
place of locally owned businesses, Brixton is increasingly populated with chain
restaurants, trendy burger
joints and organic wine bar
pop-ups.
The stalls are largely
gone in Granville Arcade,
the art deco indoor marketplace that was described by
its founders in 1961 as “London’s Largest Emporium.”
With high prices and upscale concepts, the shops in
and about the arcade have
been criticized for not catering to the needs of Brixton’s
low-income and elderly
residents.
Now it’s the small businesses run and owned by
locals along a short stretch
of a nearby road known as
Brixton Hill that are successfully eschewing the onslaught of gentrification and
proving that cool doesn’t
have to come with a high
price tag.
Lined with trees and
grand Victorian buildings,
many still boasting their
original facades, Brixton
Hill road is just five minutes
from Brixton Village, between it and Streatham Hill.
Its cheaper rents have made
the street especially attractive to small businesses.
“Rents are better here, but
even if we did go into Brixton Village, there isn’t the
local vibe that Brixton Hill
has,” said Gus Mustafa, the
DAVID AZIA/THE NEW YORK TIMES
A short stretch of Brixton Hill in South London. The
tree-lined Brixton Hill has managed to reject the onslaught
of gentrification that its neighboring hub, Brixton Village,
has faced.
owner of the Fish Lounge,
a traditional fish and chips
bar that opened there last
September. “It’s only moments away from the center
of Brixton, but Brixton Hill
has a slower pace.”
Latanya Christie, the
founder of Negril, an organic Caribbean restaurant, was also drawn to the
road’s mellow vibe. She
was one of the first to set
up a business on the hill in
2005.
With picturesque landscapes and easy access to
the center of London, Brixton Hill became a prosperous suburb in the 19th
century. The road’s old
mansions are still accompanied by 150-foot-long gardens. You can still see the
old water pump station that
once served the borough of
Lambeth and the windmill
that gave its name to one of
London’s best-known music
destinations.
Small-business
owners
like the grass-roots energy
of the area and hope that
its increasing popularity
won’t ruin its creative spirit.
“Music has always been important to Brixton’s identity, but many of the original
venues have been closed
and replaced with private
flats,” said Tony Reid, a
pensioner who immigrated
from Jamaica in the 1960s
and has lived on a street
off Brixton Hill ever since.
“It’s the music and cultural
history that made all the
developers want to come
to Brixton in the first place.
On Brixton Hill that creative
community spirit is still
alive. This area is for real
people.”
Francklin Evagle, the
owner of Kata Kata, a vegetarian galette restaurant, has
lived in the close-by neighborhood of Camberwell all
his life and appreciates the
authenticy of Brixton Hill.
“My customers are local and
happy to be in a place that
is relaxed and fair with basic
prices and honesty. That’s
what this area is really good
at. It’s honest.”
2/15/2017 5:50:32 AM