‘Fantastic’ or ‘an abomination?’: Giant $42M garage to rise in downtown Coral Gables
Coming soon to fast-changing downtown Coral Gables: A voluminous 10-story public parking garage covered in metallic panels and looming over the back of the low-slung Art Deco Miracle Theater, as if it’s about to devour the historic landmark.
The city’s $42 million garage development plan, in the works in various controversial forms since 2013, is now a go. So is its newest, minimalist Modern design, which at least some longtime Gables residents and activists find jarring — to put it mildly — in a city known for trademark Mediterranean-inspired architecture and “City Beautiful” sobriquet.
Though it comes amid voluble unhappiness among some residents over a high-intensity redevelopment boom that’s transforming downtown Coral Gables, the planned garage has received relatively scant public scrutiny. That’s in large part because city-owned buildings undergo a streamlined approval process, unlike big private development projects that go through multiple public hearings and city review boards.
The garage design, which includes a rooftop terrace, ground-floor shops and space for scooters and bikes, was not publicly unveiled until it was in final form, in mid-October. It was then quickly approved by the commission at a single hearing in November. In December, a majority of the members ratified the decision when it declined Commissioner Rhonda Anderson’s request to revisit the garage’s exterior design, which she called out of place and “boring.”
Some others who have seen renderings of the garage are not fans, either.
A Change.org petition circulated by Gables activists asking for the project to be halted has more than 1,000 signatures accompanied by a litany of disparaging comments. “Monster” or “monstrosity” are the most common terms. But there’s also “incompatible,” “not coherent,” “mammoth,” “eyesore,” “ridiculous,” “overwhelming” and “an abomination,” among others.
One Gables resident, Jose Amezaga, told commissioners in December: “Listen to the residents. They are telling you, ‘We don’t like that building.’ “
But a majority of the five-member commission has eagerly embraced the planned new structure, which the city prefers to call a mobility hub because it incorporates parking for bicycles and charging stations for scooters and electric vehicles along with 626 spaces for cars. Supportive commissioners noted the garage’s scale fits well within existing zoning for the site. They described the critics as a minority among Gables residents and attributed the opposition to differing architectural tastes.
The garage also has a roof terrace shaded by photovoltaic panels that will help power the structure, and an event and activity area with artificial turf and a meandering promenade. The ground floor will have small retail shops facing Andalusia, like a bike shop or a cafe with grab-and-go takeout food.
The city is hurrying to get the garage started under an urgent deadline. If it can’t break ground by Sept. 30, the city could be forced to turn over control of the property to developers Related Group and Allen Morris Co. The two teamed in 2017 to win a bid by the city for a far larger project on the site — a massive apartment tower and garage — before commissioners decided to scrap that plan and attempt to build a standalone garage itself.
Mayor Vince Lago, a veteran commissioner elected to the ceremonial seat last year in part because he was seen as supporting limits on large developments, said last month the expanded garage is vital for the economic health of downtown Coral Gables and its long-struggling main street, Miracle Mile. The garage will replace a much smaller, outdated two-story public garage that sits on Andalusia Avenue, behind the city-owned Miracle Theater and a row of single-story shops that face Miracle Mile.
The city won’t redevelop a second, outdated municipal garage a block away on the same street that was also included in the scrapped redevelopment deal, but may attempt to lease that structure to a private company.
Commissioners say the grand garage would support efforts to revitalize the vacancy-plagued Mile, which has recently seen new signs of life, including a wave of new dining spots and shops. A controversial zoning tweak approved by the commission last year, meanwhile, could lead to extensive redevelopment along the street, increasing heights from the predominant one-story shops to four stories.
“My goal is to continue to grow our tax base downtown,” Lago said, alluding to the garage. “These are the type of projects that will make our downtown even more attractive.”
Officials say the multipurpose garage is long overdue and will position the city for a future of alternative transportation. Flat floors and 12-foot ceilings mean the building could be converted to apartments or offices should demand for parking drop if, for instance, autonomous shared vehicles become the norm.
“We believe that this future-thinking building truly sets Coral Gables as a leader,” city manager Peter Iglesias said in an emailed response to questions.
Lago, who declined to be interviewed for this story, made his comments as the commission reaffirmed approval of the garage plan on Dec. 7. By a 3-1 margin, the board voted down a request from commissioner Anderson to have the garage’s perforated metallic exterior, which she likened to “a peg board,” sent back to the city board of architects — which had rejected the modern design — for a do-over. Anderson was the lone “yes” vote on her resolution. Commissioner Kirk Menendez left the meeting during the discussion and did not vote.
Anderson, also elected in part on a platform that called for reining in overdevelopment and listening more closely to residents, noted she does not object to the garage’s scale, which did not require any zoning changes, or to a Modern design. Both Miracle Mile, mostly developed after World War II, and Andalusia Street feature mostly mid-century architecture, she said.
But she said she has seen far more imaginative exterior designs used to screen multistory garages, and showed several examples during a slide presentation. She also presented an analysis demonstrating that the metal panels selected by Gensler architects will reflect heat and sunlight onto already hot, shadeless Andalusia Street.
Commissioners and two architects from Gensler, the largest architectural firm in the country, were not persuaded. Vice Mayor Michael Mena called the design “fantastic.”
Tensions bubbled over at last month’s hearing when the Gensler Miami architects, identified by the city as Carlos Valera and Shamim Ahmadzadegan, could not hide their disdain for Anderson’s critique. Ahmadzadegan emphatically chewed gum as he addressed Anderson, at one point interrupting her to dispute what she was saying.
That argumentative attitude did not sit well with longtime Gables activist Maria Cruz, a critic of the garage, who said the architect and his colleague were “snickering” in their seats earlier as Anderson made her presentation. That observation was seconded by another critic, Sue Kawalerski, president of the Coral Gables Neighbors Association, who said the pair of architects were also rolling their eyes at the commissioner.
“The least they can do is be respectful,” Cruz said, noting Gensler was paid $2 million by taxpayers for the work — a figure the city confirmed.
Mena, in an interview last week, defended the choice of a Modern design. He likened it to the successful insertion of contemporary architecture into Old World cities like London, Paris and Bilbao, Spain — examples he showed during a presentation during the Nov. 9 hearing, at which the commission approved the new garage design. Although the Gables has built two other Mediterranean parking garages downtown, the location of this one called for something different, he said.
“I think with a parking garage it’s OK to have a contemporary design,” Mena said. “You see that in many big cities, modern architecture married with classical architecture. It doesn’t take away. It highlights it. I think this particular design is more exciting.”
The city commission’s embrace of the mobility hub has revived a long-running debate about the right look and scale for Miracle Mile and downtown Coral Gables, where a series of major projects mixing residential and commercial uses have brought massive new proportions and density to what had traditionally been a modestly scaled business district.
Widespread concern over the effect of development was the biggest factor in city elections last year for mayor and two open commission seats.
Some residents and activists who said they hoped for different results from the new commission majority expressed disappointment over the city’s handling of the garage and commissioners’ refusal to budge on its exterior design.
“They’re all listening. They’re just not acting,” Kawalerski said. “Where is the action on behalf of the residents? We are more than disappointed. It’s all smoke and mirrors.”
Anderson said she doesn’t think her fellow commissioners weren’t heeding residents’ wishes, but sticking to a vision for a non-Mediterranean structure that would admit more light and feel “less closed in” than the city’s masonry-covered traditional garages. She also said not enough residents piped up in opposition.
“I don’t think that the commission doesn’t listen to their concerns,” she said. “I don’t think there was a huge amount of resident participation.”
But Anderson said she’s not planning to bring the matter up again.
“I’m one vote and we don’t all like the same flavor of ice cream,” she said.