The Miami Herald describes Doral, a suburb 12 miles outside Downtown Miami, as previously being a “sprawling, disjointed agglomeration of warehouses, gated communities, office parks and strip malls … without a focal point.” But with the opening of the area’s newest development, CityPlace Doral, which comes on the heels of another mixed-use development that opened in the area at the end of last year, the suburb now has two vibrant, walkable downtown areas.

Incorporated in 2003, Doral started as a typical spread-out suburb where residents needed a car to get around. In recent years, developers started seeing the potential to serve people who travel down surrounding Doral Boulevard, or want to live close to Miami International Airport (located just a mile away) but may not want to travel far for dining and entertainment.

The end of 2016 saw the completion of the first phase of Downtown Doral, a planned community that brought hip restaurants, retail, a charter school, park, luxury condo tower, and a new LEED-certified Doral City Hall building. Phase two, which is in progress, will add more restaurants and retail to the mix, plus a second condo tower.

With the March 17 opening of CityPlace Doral, a 55-acre development that includes office space, luxury condos, apartments situated on a dense dining, shopping, and entertainment hub, Doral is becoming even more of a destination. The highly-walkable area has at its center a bright public plaza with a $4 million fountain. Miami-based Arquitectonica, the firm behind many of the city’s showy condo developments, designed this development as well.

Doral is continuing to grow, too. According to numbers from Doral’s planning department cited in the Miami Herald, around 7,600 new housing units are under construction or are planned in Doral. That’s in addition to 1,200 planned for CityPlace and 5,500 planned for Downtown Doral. A library and a senior living facility are on the way as well.