Cutler Bay is an incorporated town in

Miami-Dade County Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Florida and the seventh-most populous county in ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

established in 2005, with a population of approximately 45,425 as of 2020. With 45,425 people, Cutler Bay is in 9th place of the top 10 most populous municipalities of the 34 municipalities that make up Miami's urban core, it is the 33rd most populous municipality out of the 163 municipalities that up Miami Metropolitan Area and Cutler Bay is also the 88th most populated city in the state of Florida out of 919 cities. The borders were established as running from SW 184th Street (Eureka Dr) east of US 1 to the coast, and north of

Black Point Marina Black Point Park & Marina, oftentimes referred to as "Black Point," is the largest public marina located in Miami and it is part of the Miami-Dade Parks & Recreation department. The marina is also very close to Biscayne National Park. Black Point ...

, at . The town's boundaries include the northeast section of Biscayne National Park, areas formerly known as Cutler Ridge to the west, as well as the neighborhood and former CDP of Lakes by the Bay to the east. In August 1992,

Hurricane Andrew Hurricane Andrew was a very powerful and destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that struck the Bahamas, Florida, and Louisiana in August 1992. It is the most destructive hurricane to ever hit Florida in terms of structures damaged o ...

made landfall near the area and caused extensive destruction. Lakes by the Bay was one of the areas of Miami most affected by Hurricane Andrew, and most homes and businesses in the area were completely destroyed. The area has since been rebuilt.

Geography

Cutler Bay is located just west of

Biscayne Bay Biscayne Bay () is a lagoon with characteristics of an estuary located on the Atlantic coast of South Florida. The northern end of the lagoon is surrounded by the densely developed heart of the Miami metropolitan area while the southern end is la ...

at . According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

, the CDP had a total area of . of it is land and of it (2.26%) is water. The total square miles is ten. Cutler Ridge, an ancient coral formation, stretches from south Miami, where it rises approximately 22 feet, through the Cutler Bay area, at a height of 14 feet, to Homestead, Florida, where it is about 8 feet. Cutler Ridge has been incorporated into the hurricane emergency plans for the area as lands east of the ridge are subject to storm surge, but areas west of the ridge would generally be protected. Due to Cutler Bay's position in a flat, low-lying coastal wetland area on Biscayne Bay, the area is prone to flooding. During the rainy season, Cutler Bay's many canals, channels, and lakes are frequently full of water, and the groundwater table also is full and close to the surface. Flood hazards include rainfall from tropical storms, hurricanes, and other heavy rain events.

Media

The Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and headquartered in Doral, Florida, a city in western Miami-Dade County and the Miami metropolitan area, several miles west of Downtown Miami.

History

The town was named after Dr. William Cutler of Massachusetts, who visited the area north of the town around 1880 and encouraged others to settle in what became the pioneer town of Cutler. The

Charles Deering Estate Charles Deering Estate (also known as Deering Estate at Cutler) was the Florida home of Charles Deering until 1927 when he died at the estate. Description Deering lived on the

, located in nearby Palmetto Bay, contains the Cutler Fossil Site where

mammoth A mammoth is any species of the extinct elephantid genus ''Mammuthus'', one of the many genera that make up the order of trunked mammals called proboscideans. The various species of mammoth were commonly equipped with long, curved tusks an ...

sabre-toothed tiger ''Smilodon'' is a genus of the extinct machairodont subfamily of the felids. It is one of the most famous prehistoric mammals and the best known saber-toothed cat. Although commonly known as the saber-toothed tiger, it was not closely related ...

s and

California condor The California condor (''Gymnogyps californianus'') is a New World vulture and the largest North American land bird. It became extinct in the wild in 1987 when all remaining wild individuals were captured, but has since been reintroduced to nort ...

s are among the many fossil records. The park holds archeological evidence of Native American habitation of the land 10,000 years ago.

Tequesta The Tequesta (also Tekesta, Tegesta, Chequesta, Vizcaynos) were a Native American tribe. At the time of first European contact they occupied an area along the southeastern Atlantic coast of Florida. They had infrequent contact with Europeans a ...

burial mounds are also found there. The area called Cutler Ridge had been called the "Hunting Ground" by some of the earliest Caucasian settlers in the area, circa 1825. In the early 1900s the

Florida East Coast Railway The Florida East Coast Railway is a Class II railroad operating in the U.S. state of Florida, currently owned by Grupo México. Built primarily in the last quarter of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century, the FEC was a p ...

was extended south to Cutler, which was located near what is now the

Charles Deering Estate Charles Deering Estate (also known as Deering Estate at Cutler) was the Florida home of Charles Deering until 1927 when he died at the estate. Description Deering lived on the

. Cutler then served as the place where people settling in the undeveloped

Homestead, Florida Homestead is a city within Miami-Dade County in the U.S. state of Florida, between Biscayne National Park to the east and Everglades National Park to the west. The population was 80,737 as of the 2020 census. Homestead is primarily a Miami s ...

area went to get their supplies. Destruction following hurricane andrew

In 1992,

made

landfall Landfall is the event of a storm moving over land after being over water. More broadly, and in relation to human travel, it refers to 'the first land that is reached or seen at the end of a journey across the sea or through the air, or the fact ...

near Cutler Ridge. The storm left the area in "almost total destruction". The dense vegetation near the shore and the dense subdivision development of the area are thought to have been factors which mitigated the extent of areas impacted by flood damage caused by Andrew. However, nearly every building suffered major damage from the wind, and the damage in Florida was estimated at $25 billion, the most expensive natural disaster in US history to that point. In May 2002, the Cutler Bay Steering Committee company met to discuss the formation of a municipal advisory committee, where the committee would advise on the incorporation of the Cutler Ridge area into the city of Cutler Ridge. The decision to incorporate was spurred in part by the efforts to recover from Hurricane Andrew. The proposed incorporation boundaries included Southwest 184th Street on the north and Southwest 216th and 224th streets on the south. In addition, the west boundary would include the Turnpike, U.S. 1 and Southwest 112th Avenue and Biscayne Bay would serve as the east boundary. In April 2005, the Charter committee members looked at over a dozen names for the city, ranging from "Pine Ridge" and "Cutler Bay" to just "Cutler". They reduced the choices to "Cutler Ridge" and "Old Cutler Bay". In November 2005, voters approved the charter and chose the name "Cutler Bay" for the county's 35th municipality, over "Cutler Ridge" by a vote of 1,920 to 1,403. In the months following the name change, many of those born and raised in the area that had been known as Cutler Ridge since the 1870s refused to accept the new name.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to off ...

, there were 45,425 people, 13,110 households, and 10,215 families residing in the town.

2010 census

As of 2015, there were 13,935 households, out of which 7.8% were vacant. In 2010, the population distribution was: 6.8% under 5 years old, 25.8% under the age of 18, and 10.6% 65 years of age or older. Females were 51.7% of the population. The median income for a household was $61.370. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the town was $25,193. About 10.5% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

2000 census

As of 2000, speakers of English as a

first language A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother to ...

accounted for 58.89%, while Spanish made up 38.18%, and French Creole comprised 1.31% of the population. According to the latest American Community Survey of 2008–2012 conducted by the US Census Bureau, the percentage of people who spoke English as their main language was of 44.1%, while Spanish speakers were at 50.4% of the population, and other languages accounted for 5.5%. As of 2000, Cutler Bay had the thirty-fifth highest percentage of

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...

n residents in the US, with 13.37% of the populace. It had the 151st highest percentage of Puerto Rican residents in the US, at 6.56% of the town's population, and the eighty-second highest percentage of

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...

n residents in the US, at 1.90% of its population. It also had the ninety-fifth most Dominicans in the US, at 1.66% (tied with Palisades Park, New Jersey,) while it had the twenty-ninth highest percentage of

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the coun ...

ns, at 1.43% of all residents.

Government and infrastructure

Cutler Bay is governed by a five-member Town Council and operates under a Council-Manager form of government. Three Council Members are elected to represent specific residential areas (Seats 1, 2 & 3) and must reside in their respective area. The Mayor and the Vice Mayor may reside anywhere in the Town. Town Council elections are non-partisan. As the legislative body of the Town, the Town Council determines policy, adopts the annual budget and makes laws. The

Miami-Dade Police Department The Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD), formerly known as the Metro-Dade Police Department (1981–1997), Dade County Public Safety Department (1957–1981), and the Dade County Sheriff's Office (1836–1957), is a county police department ser ...

operates the South District Station in Cutler Bay. In January 2006, Cutler Bay elected former Florida state legislator John F. Cosgrove as its first mayor. Mayor Cosgrove died on April 19, 2006, while vacationing in

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...

. Vice Mayor Paul Vrooman assumed the position of Mayor. In November 2010, Edward P. MacDougall was elected Mayor from Vice Mayor. Prior to incorporation Edward MacDougall chaired the municipal charter committee which set the Town's charter. In November 2014, Peggy Bell, who was one of the original Council Members when Cutler Bay was incorporated, was elected Mayor and served as Mayor until she reached her term limits in November 2018. Elected in November 2018, the current office of Mayor is held by former Council member Tim Meerbott. The community bought an office building, Cutler Bay Town Center, circa 2010; in 2020 the building was about 33% occupied. The city government planned to make money by leasing space in the building, but buyers did not materialize. In 2020, with the support of many residents, the Town traded the building for of land, with the vision to transform it into a park and municipal complex.

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Miami-Dade County Public Schools Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) is a public school district serving Miami-Dade County in the U.S. state of Florida. Founded in 1885, it is the largest school district in Florida and the Southeastern United States, and, , the fourth la ...

operates public schools. Elementary schools in the town limits include: * Bel-Aire Elementary School * Cutler Ridge Elementary School * Gulfstream Elementary School * Dr. Edward L. Whigham Elementary School * Whispering Pines Elementary School Cutler Bay Middle School and Cutler Bay Senior High School are in Cutler Bay. Prior to 2012 Cutler Bay had two middle schools (Centennial and Cutler Ridge), and

Miami Southridge High School Miami Southridge Senior High School is a secondary school located in South Miami Heights, Florida (Miami postal address). Its current principal is Humberto J. Miret. The school serves ninth through twelfth grade students in a mostly unincorpora ...

was the zoned school. Centennial was converted into a high school and Cutler Ridge became the sole middle school of Cutler Bay. - Print version:
Clipping of first
an
of second page
at

Newspapers.com Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites. In November 2018, ...

The charter school Mater Academy Cutler Bay is in Cutler Bay. The

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami The Archdiocese of Miami ( la, Archidioecesis Miamiensis, es, Arquidiócesis de Miami, ht, Achidyosèz Miami) is a particular church of the Catholic Church in the United States of America. Its ecclesiastical territory consists of Broward, Mia ...

operates Catholic schools. Our Lady of the Holy Rosary-St. Richard School, a K–8 school, is in Cutler Bay.

Colleges and universities

* College of Business and Technology (Cutler Bay Campus)

Surrounding areas

: Palmetto Bay : West Perrine Palmetto Bay : Unincorporated

South Miami Heights South Miami Heights is a census-designated place (CDP), originally known as Eureka, in Miami-Dade County, within the U.S. state of Florida. The population was 35,696 as of the 2010 census. Geography South Miami Heights is located at (25.588784, ...

, Goulds

: Goulds,

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nin ...

Lakes by the Bay : Unincorporated

, Lakes by the Bay

References

External links

Official site of Cutler Bay, Florida
{{authority control Towns in Miami-Dade County, Florida Towns in Florida Populated places on the Intracoastal Waterway in Florida Populated places established in 2005