Margate's homes peaked in the 1970s, when garden condos like Oriole Gardens went up, so aging systems, closet air handlers and idle seasonal homes are common.
Margate sits in north-central Broward between Coral Springs and Coconut Creek, about seven and a half miles inland from the Atlantic. It started in the 1950s as a planned town east of State Road 7, where streets, canals and a water plant came first, and then it grew fast: more of Margate's homes were built during the 1970s than in any other decade, many of them in garden-style condominium communities such as Oriole Gardens, Holiday Springs Village and Palm Lakes. That history makes Margate a city of older systems in compact spaces. Condo air handlers live in small closets, drain lines have had decades to collect sludge, and the oldest houses carry wiring and disconnects from another era. More than a thousand homes here are held for seasonal use, so some systems sit idle for months before being asked to work hard again.
Margate's housing began in 1953, when Victor Semet bought farmland and started the Hammon Heights subdivision east of State Road 7, most of which he later sold to Jack Marqusee. The city's name combines "Mar" from Marqusee with "gate" from gateway, because the area was seen as a gateway to western Broward. The Town of Margate was created in 1955 and became a city in 1961, laid out from the start with a central water and sewer plant, underground storm drainage and its own shopping center.
Construction peaked in the following decade. Census estimates place 44% of Margate's homes in the 1970s alone, and the state condominium registry shows about two-thirds of the city's roughly 8,900 condo units recorded in that decade, among them the Oriole Gardens and Oriole Golf and Tennis Club buildings from 1972 to 1975, Holiday Springs Village and Palm Lakes. Air conditioning in buildings of that age has usually been replaced more than once, often into closets and wall openings framed for 1970s equipment. About one in five residents is 65 or older.
Hurricane Wilma in 2005 left at least 70% of homes and businesses in Margate and several neighboring cities with some damage, a reminder that outdoor units and their tie-downs carry real storm risk, and Margate's tropical climate keeps cooling demand high for most of the year.
When most homes were built
Salt-air exposure
Inland, with no direct salt-air exposure
Typical buildings
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Pick one. Each is tied to how houses here were built, where they sit and how they're lived in.
Most of Margate's condominium units were recorded in the 1970s, so many buildings have drain lines, closet platforms and refrigerant lines that may have been in place for roughly half a century. A clogged or sagging condensate line in a building that old can send water across a hallway floor or into the unit below. Before a replacement, the association often has to approve the work, and getting that approval lined up early keeps a changeout from stalling.
About one in seven Margate homes predates 1970, and in houses that age the disconnect and wiring feeding the outdoor unit may be as old as the house. Since July 2024, Florida law has let air conditioning contractors replace power wiring, disconnects and breakers on dedicated AC circuits. Broward's Board of Rules and Appeals calls for an electrical plan review and inspection whenever that work is done, and Margate includes that guidance in its changeout packet. If the old disconnect is corroded or undersized, expect it to be part of the job.
The Census counts more than a thousand Margate homes held for seasonal or occasional use. A system that sits off, or set very high, for months lets indoor humidity climb, and condensate lines can dry out and crust over while nobody is home. The first hard run after a long absence is when a weak capacitor or a blocked drain tends to show itself. Running the system for a day and checking the drain before the house is fully back in use catches most of these problems early.
Planning a replacement in Margate?
Replacements are quoted after an on-site look at the equipment and the ductwork.
The on-site evaluation for a new system is free.
ZIP codes3306333068
Margate is one of fourteen Broward cities with its own page.
Florida license CAC1821225
