Pinecrest Florida is unmistakably one of the most beautiful and affluent areas in all of Miami-Dade County, offering some of its most impressive luxury homes. Encompassing less than eight square miles, the 33156 Pinecrest Florida zip code is heralded as one of the most expensive in the entire country. It is home to approximately 18,223 residents as of a 2010 census, and in 2011, the South Florida Business Journal recognized the Village of Pinecrest as one of Florida’s top ten places for “quality of life”. Pinecrest homes offer top-rated public schools rivaling nearby private schools, gorgeous landscaping with lush foliage, and expansive homes with larger lot sizes than most other Miami suburbs. Pinecrest, Florida is extremely family-friendly and centrally located, and owning a home there provides a certain level of prestige all in itself.

Over the years, a number of celebrities have lived in Pinecrest, Florida, including Alonzo Mourning, Dwayne Wade, Timbaland, Cristina Saralegui, and James Osterberg.

Pinecrest Florida History:

In the early 1900s, Henry Flagler used today’s Pinecrest as a staging area throughout the construction of the Overseas Railroad, which connected the Florida peninsula and the Florida East Coast Railway all the way to Key West. In 1936, Franz and Louise Scherr built the entrance of Parrot Jungle on Red Road, which over the years would become a world-famous tourist attraction. Scherr was the owner and operator of a feed and supply store in Homestead, Florida, and charged 25 cents admission to visitors to hear him talk about his birds, flowers, and trees. At the time, he rented the 20 acres of land for an annual fee of $25. In 2002, Parrot Jungle was purchased by the Village Pinecrest, who developed it into a municipal park known as Pinecrest Gardens in 2003. The attraction was then relocated to Watson Island (between Downtown Miami and Miami Beach) and relaunched as Parrot Jungle Island.

The 1950s and 1960s brought lots of residential development to the area before it faced devastation from Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Pinecrest slowly rebuilt, gaining the affluence and mansions it is known for today by the late 1990s. The Village of Pinecrest was officially incorporated on March 12th, 1996, and today is one of thirty-four municipalities in Miami-Dade County.