Surfside, FL

Surfside occupies roughly two miles of barrier-island frontage between 87th Street and 96th Street, directly south of Bal Harbour and north of Miami Beach. At well under a square mile of land, it is one of Miami-Dade County's smallest incorporated municipalities — a walkable grid of residential blocks and a low-rise commercial main street on Harding Avenue, with the Atlantic on the east side and Indian Creek on the west.

Published October 22, 2026

Geography and Street Plan

Surfside runs from 87th Street at its southern border with the City of Miami Beach to 96th Street at its northern border with the Town of Bal Harbour. Collins Avenue (State Road A1A) is the primary north-south artery, carrying through traffic along the oceanfront side of town. Harding Avenue, one block west of Collins, functions as the commercial main street. The cross streets between 87th and 96th are largely residential, with a mix of low-rise and mid-rise apartment buildings, smaller condominium towers, and a portion of single-family homes on the western blocks toward Indian Creek.

Surfside shares ZIP code 33154 with Bal Harbour. Despite sharing a ZIP code, Surfside is a separate incorporated municipality with its own town commission, police department, and municipal services. The Town of Surfside’s offices are located on Harding Avenue.

The Residential Landscape

Surfside’s housing stock spans a broader range of construction eras than the neighboring communities to the north. Older apartment and condominium buildings from the 1950s through the 1980s dominate portions of the interior blocks and the Collins Avenue frontage south of 93rd Street. The northern blocks, closest to Bal Harbour, have seen newer development — boutique condominium towers from the 2010s and later have risen on sites that were either vacant or carried older low-rise structures.

Single-family homes and townhomes exist primarily on the western blocks between Harding Avenue and Indian Creek. Condominium units along Collins Avenue and the oceanfront range in size from older one-bedroom layouts under 1,000 square feet to modern full-floor units of several thousand square feet in the newer boutique towers at the north end of town.

Buyers evaluating a specific building should obtain recorded sales history from Miami-Dade Property Appraiser records and request the association’s current financials, reserve study, and inspection reports before proceeding to contract.

The Champlain Towers South Collapse and Florida’s Condo Safety Act

On June 24, 2021, the Champlain Towers South residential condominium at 8777 Collins Avenue in Surfside partially collapsed. Ninety-eight people lost their lives. It was one of the deadliest structural failures in the history of the United States.

The Florida Legislature responded with the Condominium Building Milestone Inspection and Structural Integrity Reserve Study Act, passed in a special legislative session in May 2022 as SB 4-D. The law requires all residential condominium buildings three stories or taller to complete a Milestone Inspection — with Phase 1 due by December 31, 2024 for buildings 30 years or older (25 years for coastal-adjacent buildings) — and to maintain a fully funded Structural Integrity Reserve Study effective December 31, 2024, with no further waivers or reductions of reserve contributions permitted.

The site at 8777 Collins Avenue is a cleared parcel. Any future development on that site is subject to Town of Surfside approval under applicable zoning and land development regulations.

Under Florida Statute 718.503, a seller of a condominium unit is required to provide a buyer with the Milestone Inspection report and the most recent Structural Integrity Reserve Study upon request, and the buyer has the right to cancel the contract within three business days of receiving those documents. Buyers should treat this review as essential due diligence, not a formality.

Collins Avenue, Transit, and Getting Around

Collins Avenue and Harding Avenue run the length of the town. Miami-Dade Transit Route 119 (Collins Avenue Express) provides north-south bus service connecting Surfside to Miami Beach to the south and Bal Harbour and Aventura to the north. Stops are positioned at intervals along Collins Avenue.

For rail access, Brightline’s Aventura station is approximately four miles north, reachable by rideshare or bus transfer. Metrorail connections require traveling several miles west via surface roads. There are no dedicated bike lanes within Surfside’s residential grid, though the Miami Beach Boardwalk provides a pedestrian and cycling path along the Atlantic frontage and is accessible near the town’s southern boundary at 87th Street.

The town’s compact scale makes foot traffic practical for daily errands from the Harding Avenue commercial core.

Beach Access and the Indian Creek Waterway

Surfside’s public beach access points are located at several street ends along Collins Avenue between 87th and 96th Streets. Beach management is coordinated between the Town of Surfside and adjacent jurisdictions. Lifeguard service operates seasonally. The beach here is part of the same uninterrupted Atlantic frontage that runs through Miami Beach to the south and Bal Harbour to the north.

On the western edge of town, Indian Creek separates Surfside from Indian Creek Island. Several residential buildings in Surfside were developed with private dock facilities oriented toward Indian Creek, providing Intracoastal access. There is no public marina within the town, but Haulover Park and Marina — operated by Miami-Dade County in Bal Harbour — is approximately one mile north and open to the public.

Harding Avenue and Local Commerce

Harding Avenue between 91st and 96th Streets carries the town’s walkable commercial district: a low-rise strip of restaurants, a pharmacy, cafes, and service businesses. The Surfside Community Center on Harding Avenue hosts municipal programming and public events year-round. For larger grocery runs, residents use stores in the adjacent Miami Beach section — Publix is approximately two miles south — or drive north to the Aventura retail corridor, where a Whole Foods and a range of big-box and specialty retailers are located within three to four miles.

What Buyers Should Verify

Milestone Inspection status: Under SB 4-D, all buildings three stories or taller were required to complete Phase 1 of a Milestone Inspection by December 31, 2024. Obtain the most recent completed report before contracting, and confirm whether Phase 2 was triggered. If the association has not completed a required inspection, that is a material fact affecting the transaction.

Structural Integrity Reserve Study and reserve funding: Also required under SB 4-D, effective December 31, 2024. Confirm that the association has a current SIRS, that reserves are funded in full in the current-year budget, and that no special assessments are outstanding or anticipated. Request the most recent audited financial statements alongside the reserve study.

Rental restrictions: Minimum lease terms, the number of leases permitted per calendar year, and any rental-approval procedures are set by the recorded condominium declaration, not by the Town of Surfside. Obtain the recorded declaration and verify the applicable restrictions before purchasing for rental purposes.

Flood zone and elevation certificate: Obtain a current FEMA flood zone determination and elevation certificate. Flood insurance premiums depend on the finished floor elevation relative to the applicable base flood elevation; get quotes before signing a contract.

Title search and permit history: A Florida-licensed real estate attorney should conduct a title search on the unit and the underlying parcel. Miami-Dade County’s online building permit search covers permits issued within incorporated municipalities including Surfside.

Stefania Riverin, Licensed Real Estate Sales Associate, FL SL3620067, brokered by NB Elite Realty.