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Fort Lauderdale and Wilton Manors: Coral Ridge, Dolphin Isles and the Middle River

Sell a waterfront lot in 33305: Coral Ridge, Dolphin Isles and the Middle River

33305 has two kinds of waterfront. The canals that open straight onto the Intracoastal, in central Coral Ridge east of Bayview Drive and in Dolphin Isles, reach Port Everglades about 4 to 5 miles south under three drawbridges and nothing fixed. Lots on the Middle River and its South Fork, in the western half of the ZIP, pass fixed bridges of 10 and 8 feet first, and more than a third of the ZIP's land is in Wilton Manors rather than Fort Lauderdale.

33305 at a glance

Post office name and who governs it
USPS name Fort Lauderdale, but the 2020 Census ZIP-to-place file splits the land roughly 63% City of Fort Lauderdale, 36% City of Wilton Manors and about 1% Village of Lazy Lake. source
Waterfront neighbourhoods inside the ZIP
Most of Dolphin Isles and Bal Harbour (Fort Lauderdale's, not the Miami-Dade village), the middle of Coral Ridge, half of Poinsettia Heights, part of Middle River Terrace, and some Birch Park and Lauderdale Beach streets. source
Canals off the Intracoastal
Brussels, Geneva, Le Harve, Nice and Trieste waterways and the Rio Azul and Rio Verde canals in Coral Ridge; Bonita Bay, Cero Bay, Tarpon Bay, Lake Albacore and Lake Crevalle in Dolphin Isles. source
Middle River water
The Middle River and its South Fork, with Belleview, Indaview, Lindaview, Louise and Coral waterways, Sunset and Sunburst canals, Lake Elizabeth and Poinsettia Lake. source
Fixed bridges on the Middle River
Sunrise Boulevard, 0.9 mile above the mouth: 10 ft clearance. US 1, where the river forks: 8 ft. Both fixed, both 29 ft wide, clearances above mean high water. source
Drawbridges to Port Everglades
Sunrise Boulevard twin bascules at Mile 1062.6 (25 ft minimum), Las Olas at 1064.0 (24 ft reported), SE 17th Street at 1065.9 (55 ft authorized). Port Everglades is at Mile 1066.3. source
Seawall rule, Fort Lauderdale part
ULDR sec. 47-19.13: 5.0 ft NAVD88 for new or substantially repaired walls. Substantial means work on more than 50% of the shoreline length or costing more than 50% of the wall's fair market replacement cost. source
FEMA flood zones, Fort Lauderdale part
AE with base flood elevations from 6 to 13 ft NAVD88, VE of 11 to 13 ft along the ocean, plus AO and X. source
2025 single-family sales, whole ZIP
145 closed sales at a median of $1,100,000, up 6.8% on 2024; 75 paid in cash; median 67 days to contract. All single-family sales in 33305, not waterfront only. source

Brussels to Trieste: canals that open on the Intracoastal

East of Bayview Drive, the middle of Coral Ridge is laid out along short canals the city's map names after European cities. Nearby, Dolphin Isles has basins named after game fish. Both groups open onto the Intracoastal between the Oakland Park and Sunrise Boulevard bridges.

From here a boat heads south. It passes the twin Sunrise bascules, then Las Olas, then 17th Street, and reaches Port Everglades at Mile 1066.3, some 4 to 5 miles on. All three bridges open on schedules, and nothing on the route is fixed, so a tall boat waits rather than turns back.

Behind two fixed spans on the South Fork

The western half of the ZIP is Middle River country: Poinsettia Heights, Middle River Terrace and the waterways off the river. Every trip out passes under the fixed Sunrise Boulevard bridge, 10 feet above mean high water.

Lots on the South Fork add a second fixed span where US 1 crosses at the fork, with 8 feet. That suits a centre console or a pontoon. It rules out a cabin cruiser. We still want to hear about these lots, but we price them as protected water with a height limit, not as big-boat frontage.

Wilton Manors and Lazy Lake write their own rules

On the Census Bureau's 2020 file, about 36% of the land in 33305 is the City of Wilton Manors and a small patch is the Village of Lazy Lake. The post office still prints Fort Lauderdale on the mail.

For a seller that means a different permit office, a different zoning code and a different seawall section. Fort Lauderdale's section 47-19.13 does not govern a Wilton Manors lot. Tell us which city your tax bill names, and we check the right code before we price the wall.

When a dock job becomes a seawall job

In Fort Lauderdale, a repair is substantial if it touches more than half the length of your shoreline, or costs more than half the wall's fair market replacement cost. A substantial repair must bring the wall up to 5.0 feet NAVD88, or 4.0 feet on applications made before 2035.

Docks, finger piers, piles and their footers do not count as part of the wall for that test, so rebuilding a dock alone does not trip it. The exception is a concrete dock poured in one piece with the seawall cap. If yours is built that way, a dock rebuild may be a wall rebuild.

145 sales and 67 days to contract

Single-family homes across 33305 sold 145 times in 2025 at a median of $1,100,000, up 6.8% on 2024. The median time to contract was 67 days, and sellers received 92.1% of their original list price.

That median mixes Middle River houses behind the fixed bridges with Intracoastal canal frontage and dry streets, so read it as a ZIP-wide number. Your frontage and your route matter more than the average.

Questions from 33305

My canal in Poinsettia Heights runs off the Middle River. Will a sportfisherman fit under the bridges?

Not if it stands more than 10 feet above the water. The Sunrise Boulevard bridge over the Middle River is fixed at 10 feet above mean high water. Send the lot anyway; we price it for the boats that do fit.

I am in Dolphin Isles. Is my route drawbridge-only?

Yes. The Dolphin Isles basins open onto the Intracoastal between Oakland Park and Sunrise Boulevard, and every bridge south of there to Port Everglades is a bascule.

Does rebuilding my dock trigger the seawall height rule in Fort Lauderdale?

Usually not. The city leaves docks, finger piers and piles out of the substantial-repair test, unless the dock is concrete poured monolithically with the seawall cap.

My address says Fort Lauderdale but my tax bill says Wilton Manors. Which applies?

The tax bill. The post office uses one name for the whole ZIP, but zoning, permits and seawall rules follow the city the parcel is actually in.

Own a waterfront lot in 33305? Send us the address.

From 7,000 sq ft with a route to the ocean for a big boat, vacant or with a house on it. Not sure it fits? Send it anyway.

Know someone selling? Send them our way.

Neighbours, agents, dock builders and captains usually hear a waterfront lot is coming free long before it is listed. Point us at one. If you hold a Florida real estate licence and we buy it, we pay you a referral fee through your broker, agreed in writing before we approach anyone and paid at closing.

Not licensed? Send it anyway. Florida law does not let us pay you for it, but we still want to know.