Custom Home Builder in Miami-Dade County, Florida

Miami-Dade is a large county made of very different places. People build custom homes in communities such as Miami, Miami Beach, Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, Key Biscayne, Pinecrest, Aventura, Bal Harbour and North Miami, and a bayfront lot in one is a different project from a tree-lined residential street in another. Lot size, neighborhood rules, waterfront conditions and architectural expectations all vary from place to place.

Our documented Miami-Dade work is in the Village of Miami Shores, where we built a waterfront residence and designed a villa for a double lot. We mention the other communities not as a record of completed projects but as places where owners in the county commonly build, and where the same questions about lots, permits and flood rules come up. If your property is elsewhere in the county, we start by reviewing the specific address.

In Miami-Dade, the permitting authority depends on where the property sits. Within an incorporated municipality, building permits are generally handled by that city or village’s own building department. In unincorporated areas, the county, through the Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources, handles permitting. The county’s Building & Permits page describes permit services, inspections and contractor licensing.

Because the answer changes from address to address, the first step on any Miami-Dade project is confirming the jurisdiction. It also determines which forms, fees and review process apply, and whether a municipality adds its own design or zoning review on top of the building code.

Miami-Dade County sits inside the Florida Building Code’s High-Velocity Hurricane Zone. In practice this affects structural design, roofing and every exterior opening, and products such as impact windows, doors and garage doors must be approved for use in the zone, commonly through a Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance (NOA). We plan product selection with that requirement in mind, because substituting a non-approved product late in the process can stall an inspection.

Flood zones are the other major factor. FEMA’s flood maps, available through the Map Service Center, show the zone and the base flood elevation for a parcel, and many municipalities require the finished floor to sit above that elevation by an additional margin. These rules differ between cities, so we recommend checking the map and the local rule early, before the design fixes the ground-floor height.

• Confirm the permitting jurisdiction for the address
• Look up the FEMA flood zone and base flood elevation
• Ask which local elevation and design review rules apply
• Choose exterior products with HVHZ approvals from the start

We work with owners who already hold a lot, owners who are still searching, and owners with an existing home they would like to renovate or expand. Mariano Barreto, who brings more than 25 years of construction experience, stays involved throughout, and design-build lets us coordinate architects, designers and engineers around the project.

In Miami Shores you can see the result: a 4,700-square-foot waterfront residence at 1379 NE 104 Street with an open plan, an Italian kitchen and a rooftop terrace, and the Mediterranean-inspired double-lot villa design at 1080 NE 96 Street.

Send us the address or the neighborhoods you are considering, whether you own the lot, any survey or drawings, and the size and character of home you have in mind. If you are still looking for a lot, we can talk through what to verify before you buy, from flood zone to setbacks.

From there we explain what we would review before discussing scope or budget, because a specific home needs its own assessment. Contact us by phone, WhatsApp or email from the contact page.