Delray Beach is a popular city for residents and visitors to live in due to its walkable downtown area along Atlantic Avenue, proximity to both the beach and Intracoastal Waterway, and variety of housing options. The historic neighborhoods and vibrant downtown scene attract a diverse demographic of residents. While home prices dipped during the real estate crisis, the market has rebounded and Delray Beach remains an appealing place to call home for those looking to be active outdoors and live in a charming, coastal town.

1. livingin
clockwise from top left: Atlantic
Avenue’s pooch patios; Vic & Angelo’s;
conch ceviche at 50 ocean; Banker’s
row neighborhood
Delray Beach
what it’s like
to live in ...
L i f e st y L e
s the silver Mercedes crawls to a stop at Atlantic Avenue at home, are what residents — full-time and seasonal — love about
A in Delray Beach, the bearded chin of a wheaten terrier
pokes through the open window. The sight of other
canines lazing under sidewalk cafe tables piques his curiosity.
this city nestled between Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach
on the Atlantic Ocean.
Sure, other Florida towns have both urban centers and
Atlantic Avenue is Delray’s energy epicenter. Te pedestrian traf- beaches, but Delray, a city of 60,500, possesses a magnetic quality
fic and overflowing alfresco cafes, where Fido and Rover are right all its own. It is in part the result of progressive thinking decades >>
story nAnci theoret photogr aphy gAry BogDon
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2. “Delray is a walking town. People from other cities
come here to walk, shop, eat or go to the beach.”
>> ago, when the construction of view-blocking high-rises along the asking price. Since they both work from home, being five blocks
oceanfront was prevented. Commerce was channeled to Atlantic from Atlantic Avenue wasn’t as important to them as the two
Avenue, a beach-to-business sweep that crosses the Intracoastal extra bedrooms, which they’ve converted to offices. “We’re big
Waterway and pushes a dozen blocks westward. During the past runners and bikers and compete in triathlons,” Kim says. “Delray
10 years or so, a living, breathing downtown has emerged, and is a good area for us to spend the winter, and we’re only a mile
people have followed, trying to live as close as possible to the and a half from the ocean.”
city’s heart. Besides the Atlantic, there’s the Intracoastal Waterway that
“Te first thing people ask when they walk into my office separates Delray into beachfront and mainland. Te beach side
is where can they live and walk to Atlantic [Avenue],” says Ted falls into a late-night lull, but come morning, power walkers,
Brown, the managing broker for Prudential Florida Realty’s pedestrians and dogs return to the sidewalks, and bicycle racks fill
Delray office. “Delray is a walking town. People from other cit- quickly. However, on the mainland, the hum of Atlantic Avenue’s
ies come here to walk, shop, eat or go to the beach.” nightlife, west of the Intracoastal, continues into the early morn-
Delray’s dynamic downtown has helped sofen the impact of ing hours. Te open-air restaurants and bars that cater to night
the real-estate fallout. Although home prices in some neighbor- owls attract a wide range of ages. Vic & Angelo’s is a fave for
hoods have dropped 35 percent, the rate of foreclosure is lower crisp, charred-crust pizzas, and Linda Bean’s Perfect Maine
here than in other parts of Florida. Buyers have returned, and they Lobster cafe scores for its lobster rolls.
represent a microcosm of an affluent and upwardly mobile society Te variety of properties is staggering. Delray Beach has multi-
of young professionals, investors cashing in on a hot rental mar- million-dollar waterfront estates, well-preserved 1950s bungalows
ket (single-family homes fetch up to $4,000 a month), and those and Intracoastal condos tucked into neighborhoods on each side
like Chicagoans Kim and Kevin Radisewitz, who moved down of Atlantic Avenue. Inventory south of the avenue is limited, due to
here to escape the Midwest cold and plan ahead for retirement. residents’ desire to be near both the ocean and the pedestrian hub.
Te Radisewitzes purchased a three-bedroom townhome last Currently, listings show condos in older mid-rise buildings, includ-
fall in Latitude, a relatively new condominium and townhome ing the Venetian Village, where the occasional two-bedroom,
development. It cost them a fraction of the original $500,000 1,200-square-foot property runs around $250,000.
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3. delray beach + livingin
clockwise from left:
Delray’s oceanfront
location appeals to home
buyers; annual thanks-
giving Weekend Arts
Festival; funky Florida
mailbox at a Banker’s
row home; 50 ocean’s
lobster sandwich.
Hip Pineapple grove is an area whose artsy cachet is pro- R e A L e stAt e
claimed by a wall mural at Northeast Second and Atlantic avenues.
Te neighborhood features two- and three-bedroom condos and what your money can
townhomes adjacent to and above restaurants and boutiques. Te
1,200- to 2,400-square-foot homes are just a walk from the new
buy now + D E L R AY B E AC H
DU20 holistic spa, the home-furnishings store Beached Boat co. ➜ $249,000 Condos like fireplace and hard-
this two-bedroom, second- wood floors, as
and Max’s harvest, chef Dennis Max’s farm-to-fork venture.
story unit on Venetian Drive well as granite
“Pineapple Grove is an ideal location for everyone who wants
don’t stay on the market countertops and
to be downtown,” Brown says. “New or relatively new homes with long — it’s two blocks from stainless-steel
stainless-steel appliances and granite countertops, once priced at the beach, three blocks from appliances.
$400,000 to $500,000, are selling at $300,000.” Atlantic Avenue. The
➜ $2 , 250,000 This
Nearby neighborhoods, such as Banker’s row, have a mix of 1,170-square-
three-bedroom oceanfront
architectural styles, from pastel-colored early-1900s-era cottages foot home
townhome is just blocks from
to Mediterranean Revival mansions. Lake ida, 10 blocks north of has both
Atlantic Avenue. The three-
Atlantic Avenue, is a sought-afer neighborhood with cul-de-sacs, wood and
story corner home has a
carpeted
canals and lakefront single-family homes. Prices range from around private pool/spa, an eleva-
floors.
$300,000 to $1 million, depending on the age of the home and its tor and two balconies. Contact
proximity to the lake. “Lake Ida is one of the most active markets in ➜ $749,000 Ted Brown, Prudential
the community,” Brown points out. “It has the charm of Old Florida. This nearly Florida Realty,
3,000-square-foot, four- 561.251.9600,
Buyers are making major improvements to older homes.”
bedroom pool home — the tedbrown@pru
Delray clearly buzzes with an urban energy, but for the quintessential vintage Delray dentialflorida
Radisewitzes, the beach is still the hands-down winner. “One of cottage — is in the Del Ida realty.com;
our favorite things is spending time at the ocean, just sitting and Park historic district. It has prudential
relaxing in the sun,” Kim says. No doubt, other residents agree. a covered porch, balcony, floridarealty.com
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