What will happen to this Gables school and its ancient tree? There’s an update
In Coral Gables, a city known for its lush tree canopy, a death knell is ringing for a garden and an ancient tree caught in the crossfire of a controversial mixed-use development.
The proposed complex has also rallied a group of supporters who see the project as a lifeline for Crystal Academy, a longtime Gables school for children with autism whose fate is tied to the property. Although the school would need to temporarily relocate so the nine-story apartment complex could be built on the site at 110 Phoenetia Ave., the developer has agreed to rebuild the school on part of the land and allow Crystal Academy to use the space without paying rent.
On Tuesday, Coral Gables Mayor Vince Lago, Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson and Commissioner Richard Lara voted to uphold previously approved design plans by the city’s Board of Architects for the project, which has been part of a multi-year dispute between the developers and a group of residents who argue the project is not compatible with the neighborhood. Commissioners Melissa Castro and Ariel Fernandez voted against.
For Fifield Companies, the Chicago-based developer that is under contract to buy the property, the 3-2 vote means it’s one step closer to breaking ground.
Kevin Farrell, Fifield’s chief operating officer, said he expects to begin construction in 2027 and complete the project in 2029. Fifield’s purchase of the property will be finalized if the site is rezoned for residential mixed-use development, which will be decided by the City Commission.
For Crystal Academy founder Mary Palacio, Tuesday’s vote means she’s closer to securing a new rent-free school that will help free up money to increase services for children with autism.
But for activist Bonnie Bolton, the vote is a death sentence for the many plants and trees on the swath of land, including a tree that she has argued is as old or older than the 100-year-old city. Fifield says it wants to save the ancient tree and plans to move it to a nearby swale.
Bolton opposes the developer’s plan to move the live oak, arguing that moving the tree could kill it.
“I definitely and strongly disagree to the decision that was made today,” Bolton told the Herald after the vote.
Bolton has spent four years rallying residents, gathering signatures, filing appeals and attending city meetings to protest project plans. Her previous efforts to save the “Garden of our Lord,” including a proposed land swap and an attempt to deem the garden historic, have failed. But the daughter of late feminist and civil rights activist Roxcy Bolton isn’t ready to call it quits just yet.
Bolton and her attorney David Winker are going to court.
“We’re going to appeal the decision,” Winker said, noting that they believe a different design “would make it better for the students” of Crystal Academy.
A lengthy debate
The David vs. Goliath battle began several years ago when Century Homebuilders, the company of the late developer Sergio Pino, bought the swath of land in 2021 for $9.8 million. The design for a mixed-use development with 200 apartments and 301 parking spaces was approved in 2023 by the city’s Board of Architects and appealed by Bolton.
Tuesday’s vote, which followed more than three hours of public comment in the packed chambers, comes nearly a month after three independent architects at a special master hearing unanimously upheld the board’s decision to approve the project’s design. Developers would have to raze and pave over a defunct church, Crystal Academy, and a garden that was created in 1951 by architect Robert F. Smith, the same architect behind some structures at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden and the Doc Thomas House. The ancient tree resides in the school’s playground.
“It was a relief because at least I know that we’re moving forward,” Palacio told the Herald after the vote, explaining how frustrating it is for the school’s future to be in limbo, a status that she said recently affected its ability to get philanthropic dollars for a beautification project. Pino, before his death, promised to give Crystal Academy a new rent-free school on the property for 99 years.
Fifield plans to honor the deal with Crystal, said Sarina Sorrentino, the company’s vice president for development. This would be the first time a Fifield project includes a school.
For Crystal Academy parents like Gisselle Encarnacion, who recently moved near the school, the firm’s deal with Crystal is enough to get her support. Encarnacion said her 13-year-old son has seen improvement in his speech and other areas since he began attending the school eight months ago.
“We’re going to have a much better building and more resources for our kids,” Encarnacion told the Herald ahead of the meeting.
“This school, in eight months, has achieved what no other school has done for my son,” she added. “So for me, this school is a lifesaver.”
‘It has to do with the neighborhood’
Other parents whose children attend Crystal Academy shared similar sentiments during Tuesday’s meeting, urging commissioners to help move the project forward. So did Jorge Arrizurieta, the president and CEO of the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce, who spoke in support of the project, describing it as being in line with the neighborhood’s character and as a “transformational opportunity” for Crystal Academy.
Commissioners also heard from Bolton and other residents who have long argued that the development’s density, height, style and other factors are not compatible with the neighborhood. Bolton has collected more than 50 letters over the past several years from residents and preservationists calling for the preservation of the garden and the tree. Many said the project is too tall for the neighborhood and doesn’t have enough green space and asked the city to protect the garden and trees.
“Architecture is a complete package,” said Maria DeLeon, a Gables resident and architect professor at the University of Miami who spoke against the project’s design. “Architecture is not dealing with the building on an island. It has to do with the neighborhood, has to do with the context, has to do with the scale.”
Sorrentino and other Fifield executives say a survey the firm conducted shows that over 400 residents in the area support the project, which will bring more housing to the city, including “live work” units, which are hybrid spaces that let shop owners live where they work. Rent is expected to cost between $3,800 to $6,800.
“Coral Gables exists because someone once chose progress. Every neighborhood we now consider historic was once new and often controversial,” Sorrentino told the Herald . “Progress doesn’t mean erasing the past. It means carrying forward the values that matter, like community, beauty and purpose, and expressing in ways that serve today’s community.”
During a recent tour of the property, Sorrentino and other Fifield employees pointed out other nearby buildings that are the same height, or taller, than their proposed complex. One of the nearby developments, 12-story The Aurelian, has begun construction across the street from the historic Coral Gables Woman’s Club. Many other buildings around the proposed complex are three stories or less.
Sorrentino said the city’s approval process is “rigorous” for new developments. The Phoenetia Avenue project has gone before the city’s architecture board five times to ensure its Mediterranean-style design aligns with the neighborhood, she said, and was also recently given approval by the special masters hearing in January. For that reason, Sorrentino said the plans for the project are final, and she doesn’t expect them to change.
What comes next?
Besides Bolton’s pending appeal to civil court, there are still a few more hurdles developers will need to face before construction can begin.
The site will have to be rezoned to allow mixed-use residential development, a process that will involve appearing before the Planning and Zoning Board multiple times before going back to the City Commission.
Bolton has previously said the project is “incompatible” with the surrounding area, which is part of the North Ponce Neighborhood Conservation District and home to numerous historic single-family homes and garden apartments.
On Tuesday, Gina Gilford, president of the Villagers, a not-for-profit volunteer-led group that describes itself as the county’s oldest historic preservation group, expressed her own concerns with the potential zoning change, stating that it would “forever change the integrity of the historic neighborhood.”
“This is not just about a church or a garden or even a 100-year-old tree,” Gilford said as she urged commissioners to strike down the previously approved design plans. “Voting against this project is observing the soul of this neighborhood.”
If the rezoning isn’t approved, Fifield will not take over the project from Century, which both Palacio and Sorrentino say could leave the school in jeopardy.
Both Sorrentino and Farrell agree that the dispute with residents has made the project one of the firm’s “most complicated” to date. Arborists can’t even agree on how old the ancient tree Bolton is trying to save actually is. Some who have joined Bolton’s efforts estimate the tree to be at least 100, or possibly even as old as 200, making it senior to the state of Florida itself. Fifield’s arborist, Michael McCoy, on the other hand, estimates the tree is younger and is likely between 84 and 99 years old.
Farrell said the company is working with McCoy and “tree mover” David Bryan of Tropical Falls to move the tree from its current location on Crystal’s playground. He said that process will include an estimated six months of root pruning in order to move the tree about 200 feet to the northeast corner of Antilla Avenue and East Ponce de Leon Boulevard. The black olive tree that is currently on that grassy swale will be removed to make room for the live oak tree, he said.
That plan has caused friction, too.
Bolton and arborist Stephen Pearson, who estimates the tree to be near 200 years of age, have previously expressed concerns that relocating such a large and old tree would likely kill it. McCoy and Bryan believe the tree is in good enough condition to survive the move.
This story was originally published February 11, 2026 at 10:59 AM.
