Why are there so many empty stores on Miracle Mile? A Q&A with the Gables Chamber
Why are so there so many empty storefronts along Coral Gables’ beloved Miracle Mile? What opportunities are there for new and existing businesses in the Gables? And what’s the recipe for success in the City Beautiful?
The Miami Herald sat down with the Gables’ top business advocates — Jorge Arrizurieta, president and CEO of the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce, and Cristina Miller, president of the Mark A. Trowbridge Chamber Foundation, formerly known as the Coral Gables Chamber Foundation— to get a pulse on the financial health of businesses in the city.
Eddy Martinez, a Gables shop owner and chamber member who recently partnered with the foundation to launch Gables-Opoly, a new Coral Gables-themed Monopoly-like game, also joined the conversation to discuss efforts that are underway to draw more customers to shops and restaurants in the City Beautiful.
“The fabric of our community is small business,” said Arrizurieta.
Here were the key takeaways.
Why are there vacancies on Miracle Mile? What’s being done to fix it?
Arrizurieta said the area’s current problems stem from rising rents and the type of tenants that can afford to take up shop in the area — mainly, banks and other national powerhouses.
Coral Gables has a lot of banks. But the financial institutions have begun to crowd out the city’s signature and historically local retail and restaurant-friendly Miracle Mile strip. There’s a BankUnited, a TD Bank and a Capitol One Cafe, where people can bank and get coffee. A Wells Fargo will soon open on the Mile, too.
Arrizurieta doesn’t believe banks are the “ideal” choice for the Mile because banks close early and on the weekends, echoing a sentiment that has been shared by city commissioners. The chamber’s wish is to see more stores and restaurants fill the Mile. But rising rents and other expenses are taking a toll on current and potential shop owners.
“The city is very, very focused on trying to improve the vacancy rate that we’ve got going on in the Mile right now,” Arrizurieta said. “You drive down, you can’t miss it right?”
Martinez, the owner of Bliss Imprints & Gifts at 293 Miracle Mile, said he feels like exposure is both the biggest challenge, and largest opportunity, for retail owners in the Gables.
It’s one of the reasons why he came up with Gables-Opoly, a Monopoly-like board game featuring Gables landmarks, shops and other local businesses. A percentage of every purchase goes back to the chamber’s foundation, which uses the funds to support businesses and nonprofits in the city.
The chamber and the city are trying their own initiatives, too.
The Gables hosts events, festivals and activities throughout its downtown year-round to help draw in crowds not just to the Mile, but also to other streets across the city, including Restaurant Row on Giralda Avenue. It looks for Instagrammable artwork to display in hopes of getting another viral success story, like the 2018 Umbrella Sky installation on Giralda Avenue and the 2023 “Moon Over the Gables” artwork on Ponce Circle Park that flooded the city with visitors.
The city is currently revamping its permitting department and last year formalized a concierge-like permitting assistance program that was launched in 2011 in collaboration with the chamber to help business owners obtain permits easier and faster, with the goal of speeding up the opening of shops and restaurants.
The chamber is also backing another idea Mayor Vince Lago recently proposed — a plan to potentially charge commercial property owners across the Gables a beautification fee, except for those on Miracle Mile and Giralda, which already have a similar fee in place.
Lago explained in a March 10 meeting that the fee would make required maintenance cheaper and easier for business owners, while letting the city manage sidewalk pressure-cleaning and repairs, landscaping and streetscape upkeep to clean and beautify the city.
How does the new Coral Gables board game fit into the chamber’s plans?
For Miller, Gables-Opoly “felt like a perfect fit” for the chamber’s efforts to engage shoppers with businesses and get some love on social media.
“Gables-Opoly is the perfect opportunity to expose visitors to the area, community businesses,” Miller said.
The board game features historic and famous landmarks, including the Biltmore Hotel, the Venetian Pool and City Hall. The University of Miami and other Gables staples, including Hotel Colonnade, Hyatt Coral Gables and the DeSoto Fountain, are also part of the game.
And it’s been a success, according to Miller and Martinez. The game sold out a few days before Martinez hosted a Gables-Opoly event with a larger-than-usual board during the city’s monthly Giralda Live event in March. His next shipment of boards is expected to arrive this week.
Could proposed property tax cuts impact shops and other businesses?
Everyone is talking about the potential property tax cuts that may soon be on Florida voters’ ballots. Gables leaders have raised concerns during city meetings about the potential impact.
Arrizurieta said the chamber, just like the city, is closely monitoring developments.
He believes the proposals floating around Tallahassee will lead to a “deeper conversation about how the local governments are spending their money and where they’re spending their money.”
“Everybody needs to be vigilant,” he said. “I think there’s a long road left before we get to that conversation.”
What should business owners know about opening in the Gables?
Arrizurieta said getting involved in the community is crucial.
“My strongest tip would be to get engaged, be a part of the fabric of this community and be a part of the chamber’s activity,” he said. “It’s a great place to not only meet your peers, meet your colleagues, but meet your clients and your prospective clients.”
Social media and AI also need to be part of your playbook, according to Arrizurieta.
“If you’re not involved in taking advantage of social media and using AI in today’s reality, you’re way behind the curve,” said Arrizurieta, noting that social media helped make ScandyCandy, a Swedish candy store, a viral sensation in the Gables.
Both Miller and Martinez shared a similar sentiment, explaining that business owners need to be ready to network and create a social media strategy. They said the chamber provides a variety of opportunities, from luncheons and social events to training sessions on marketing, AI and other subjects, including for business owners whose shops are not actually in the City Beautiful but either want to move there someday or want to do business within the city.
“Let’s talk about access. If you cold-call as a small business, you cold-call the Biltmore, you cold-call Baptist, you’re probably not going to get a meeting,” said Miller. “But if you’re seeing these folks out at these networking events, and they get to know and trust you, you’re more likely to secure business with them.”
The Gables-Opoly initiative, for example, helped Martinez secure a deal to do promotional products for the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
Arrizurieta said people should think of the chamber’s networking power like a gym membership. If you don’t use it, you won’t lose weight or build muscles.
“A chamber membership is exactly the same way,” he said, noting that people can also pay to attend certain events, instead of a complete membership, to test the waters.
To learn more about the chamber, visit coralgableschamber.org.
