North: SW 88 Street (North Kendall Drive)

South: SW 152 Street

East: US 1

West: SW 137 Avenue

The community was named after Major Kendall, an executive of the British Land Company that had surveyed and mapped many areas of Florida.  Kendall is home to one of Miami's general aviation airports, the Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport.  There are at least two Kendalls. In the public mind, Kendall represents a vast, sprawling unincorporated area in the southwest environs of Miami-Dade County that has undergone explosive growth in the past generations (Valdes, 2006).

Today the Board of County Commissioners has purposely distinguished and designated the area of Kendall as West Kendall and East Kendall communities. This was done in order to balance population with regard to determining boundaries for proposed incorporation as new cities; when sufficient community support for study is properly petitioned to the Board of County Commissioners (Valdes, 2006).

While the physical definitions of Kendall may vary, there is little disagreement over the claim that it represents the southern anchor of South Miami-Dade County. The Kendall of today is, of course as different as is horse country from the Dadeland Mall. The postwar era brought great changes to the area, however Kendall remained largely rural. Several major development initiated Kendall’s rapid transformation such as Baptist Hospital, operated by downtown Miami’s historic Central Baptist Church, opened in the 1960s on North Kendall Drive. Further, Dadeland Shopping Center opened in North Kendall Drive east of the Palmetto Expressway and one mile north of the Baptist Hospital. “Adding to the rapid development of Kendall was the opening, in 1967, of a second campus of Miami-Dade Junior College along the Killian Parkway. By the 1970’s Kendall had become Dade’s fastest growing community” (Jensen & Wiggins 2001).

Today, Kendall’s Community Council primarily created to make zoning and land use decisions that affect their neighborhoods, currently acts as liaisons between the community and the Board County Commissioner, while making recommendations to them regarding the needs and concerns of their neighborhoods via resolutions (Valdes, 2006).

Kendal is perhaps the Miami-Dade neighborhood closest to incorporation of all those vying to become more autonomous.  As such it is not only paying careful attention to where its boundaries fall but who it attracts to reside within these boundaries.  “The significance of parks is huge,” said Howard Gregg, assistant director of planning and development for the parks department.  In the Kendall area, greenways and playgrounds are currently being renovated giving a sense of where the neighborhood is headed.  Kendall stands poised to greet the future with new developments all around the neighborhood which include centers of embracing cultural appreciation and leisure time activities (Piniero 2006).

The per capita income for the area was $27,914. 8.6% of the population and 5.7% of families were below the poverty line. The median income for a household in the area was $51,330, and the median income for a family was $61,241 (Census 2000).

     Many challenges will face the Kendall Community and its residents over the coming decades which include the impact of population growth and community development on the limited water supplies. In 1978 Kendall claimed over 60,000 residents and its population was increasing at a rate of 6,000 new residents annually. As of the 2000 census, the area had a total population of 75,226 and 250,000 within its sprawling suburbs. In 2000, near 50 percent of the residents were Hispanic.  For Kendall to maintain its current rate of development, there will be a need to prevent spot zoning and leap frog development that will place both residential and commercial development in areas without sufficient infrastructure, including that of adequate roadway access (Valdes, 2006).  Traffic congestion remains one of Kendall residents’ most frequently mentioned concerns. 

Kendall Federation of Homeowner Association. http://www.kfha.org/history.asp

Jensen, Robert J. and Wiggins, Larry.  (2001).  South Dade: Homestead, Florida City,and Redland.  In (Becky Roper Matkov, ed.) Miami’s Historic Neighborhoods; A History of Community.  Historical Publishing Network.  San Antonio, TX

Jose I. Valdes. Board Member. Kendall Community Council 12. Interview. April 4, 2006.

Piniero, Yudi. The Green Site. Miami Herald. Page: 3WK. March 5, 2006.

U.S. Bureau of the Census.  (2000).  Statistical File 3, P31 and P32 for Census Tracts 0103.00 and 0112.01.  http://www.census.gov.