First Florida is a Miami-based general contracting and real estate development company incorporated in 1963, still owned and managed by the founding family. It was started when the original owners of Burger King Corporation invited B.E. Miller to organize a construction company to build their restaurants throughout the United States. Between 1963 and 1983, First Florida constructed more than 1,200 restaurants for Burger King and its franchisees in the United States and the Caribbean Basin.

In the 1970s, First Florida expanded its customer base to include other national restaurant companies and became the general contractor for such prestigious national chains as Wendy’s, Sambos, Victoria Stations, El Toritos, WR Grace Restaurant Group, McDonalds, Hardees, Arby’s, Sizzlers and Garcias. By 1982, First Florida was the nation’s largest restaurant builder.

During that time, First Florida expanded into the hotel industry as well and ultimately constructed thousands of rooms for Motel 6, Days Inn, Comfort Inn, Hilton, Holiday Inn, Marriott, Hampton Inn and Sheraton. Continuing its aggressive expansion program, the company constructed large commercial and industrial projects throughout the State of Florida. High-rise apartments, office building, water treatment plants, refrigerated warehouses and banks were added to the company’s projects.

Apartments

Today, First Florida is one of the state’s leading housing contractors, skilled in the construction of both market-rate and affordable apartment housing.

The State of Florida and the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity have approved First Florida as a contractor for all tax credit and HUD projects. The high quality of our work demonstrates our expertise in affordable apartments, as well as elderly and farm-worker housing, which we build throughout the state of Florida. We are particularly proud of our ability to produce excellent results for our clients in small counties where these types of projects are often most needed.

We also build market-rate housing for some of the area’s largest developers, including the Lane Company and J.W. Harris & Company.

Elderly Housing/Assisted Living

First Florida has built close to 500 units of housing for the elderly that include medical exam rooms, fitness rooms and a myriad of design features specifically for older residents.

Hotel Development and Construction

First Florida has been active in the development, ownership and management of several hotels, including the 191-room Comfort Inn and the 104-unit Hampton Inn & Suites near the Ft. Lauderdale Airport, the 113-room Fairfield Inn by Marriott and the 154-room Days Inn in West Palm Beach, the 105-room Fairfield Suites by Marriott in Port St. Lucie and the Airliner Hotel at Miami International Airport.

In recent years, First Florida has completed several hotels for other clients, including the Best Western in Florida City, the Hampton Inn and Suites in Hollywood, Florida, the Holiday Inn at Miami International Airport, the Staybridge Suites Hotel at Miami International Airport and the Hampton Inn in Ft. Lauderdale.

Construction Management

Some clients retain our services to provide development expertise and construction management, alleviating the necessity to maintain in-house development and construction personnel. One such client is Divi Resorts. First Florida completed Phase I of the nine million dollar Divi Village on the island of Aruba under budget and on time. As a result, we were also awarded the ten million dollar Phase II and the six million dollar Phase III of the same time-share complex.

Additionally, RS Construction of Miami retained the services of First Florida as construction managers to build a 336-unit apartment complex near Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami.

Supporting Our Community

First Florida is an active participant in Rebuilding Together, a national organization dedicated to helping low-income homeowners, particularly those who are elderly and disabled, to live independently and with dignity. We provide services throughout the year to members of our community who need help with sagging roofs, faulty wiring, shaky railings, rotting steps and termites. All work is done on a volunteer basis with donated materials at no charge to the homeowners. Bob Miller, President of First Florida is Chairman of the Board of the Miami Chapter of Rebuilding Together and donates hundreds of hours of skilled services by our staff to help those in need who are referred through neighborhood associations, churches, synagogues, community organizations and service groups.  For more information, click here to be linked to www.RebuildingTogetherMiami.org.

Florida Contractor Licences

First Florida Contractor Licences:
CGC 025686, CGC 1508917, CGC 061170, CGC 1509311