By Coral Gables Gazette staff
An open-air Odeon, arcaded promenades and a large geometric sculpture rising from a reflecting fountain could soon reshape one of Coral Gables’ most prominent public spaces.
City commissioners on May 19 unanimously advanced preliminary plans for an $11.2 million redesign of Fred B. Hartnett Ponce Circle Park, sending the long-awaited proposal into public review. Architects described the redesign as a vision for the city’s future cultural park — centered around performances, sculpture, informal gathering and shaded public use.
Residents will have their next opportunity to weigh in at a public community meeting on Monday, June 1, at 6 p.m. at the Coral Gables Adult Activity Center, Great Room, 2 Andalusia Avenue. The meeting will also be available via Zoom. The proposed park designs will remain available for public review and comment through June 30 at GablesRecreation.com/ParksProjects.
What the redesign would create
The renderings reveal a comprehensive reimagining of the park organized around several interconnected elements that together create a formal civic space consistent with the Mediterranean Revival character George Merrick established for the city at its founding.
The centerpiece of the design is the Odeon, a classical open-air performance structure on the park’s western end featuring a coffered dome set within a pedimented stone facade supported by engaged columns. The renderings show the Odeon framing a stage suitable for chamber concerts, civic ceremonies, and community performances — a permanent cultural amenity the park currently lacks.
At the park’s eastern end, a sculpture fountain serves as the visual anchor of the design. The renderings feature a large-scale contemporary geometric sculpture by Frank Stella — Puffed & Inverted Star II — rising from a circular reflecting pool surrounded by stone seating, plantings, and mosaic paving. The sculpture fountain creates a formal terminus to the park’s central axis.
Connecting these two anchors is an event lawn — an open green intended for passive use and programmed gatherings — flanked on both long sides by arcades. The arcades provide covered pedestrian promenades linking pavilions spaced along the park’s perimeter, with arched openings facing both the lawn and the surrounding streetscape. The renderings show the pavilion architecture in cream stucco with decorative diamond details and terracotta tile roofs consistent with Coral Gables’ historic vernacular.
Along the northern and southern edges, a shaded allée of trees creates formal pedestrian corridors, with café seating visible in the renderings under the arcade openings. A curving low wall and seating element defines the boundary between the lawn and the sculpture fountain plaza.
Not all public reaction was supportive. At the May 19 meeting, resident Jackson Holmes argued the proposal introduces too much built structure into one of downtown’s few remaining open green spaces, raising broader questions about how much architectural programming belongs within the park.
Who designed it
The renovation design was presented by de la Guardia Victoria Architects & Urbanists, a Coral Gables-based firm led by principals Maria de la Guardia and Teófilo Victoria, working in collaboration with the Allen Morris Company and landscape firm Naturalficial. According to its website, De la Guardia Victoria is a Coral Gables-based studio specializing in architecture and urban design that draws deeply from traditional, historically inspired and theory-driven roots. Maria de la Guardia received her architecture training at the University of Miami and Harvard.
The development partnership behind the project
The park renovation is being undertaken in coordination with the Allen Morris Company’s adjacent Ponce Park condominium development at 3000 Ponce de Leon Boulevard, with the scope including enhancements to the park and surrounding streetscape intended to integrate the development with the public realm. Construction on the Ponce Park residential building began in December 2025 and is expected to be completed in early 2028.
The cost has grown
The renovation carries a price tag that has grown since the project’s original approval. When the commission approved the development management agreement with Allen Morris, the park renovation budget was set at $8.9 million. Javier Fernandez, a lobbyist representing the developer, told commissioners at the May 19 meeting that the design now before the city is estimated to cost approximately $11.2 million — roughly $2.3 million above the original figure.
“We’ve been working with staff on putting together a financial package which we’ll present to you on the 9th with the details as to how we will fill that gap,” Fernandez told the commission.
Mayor Vince Lago said he was confident the difference could be addressed. “I think we’ll be able to make that gap,” Lago said, adding that the finalization of construction documents may allow for further cost reductions.
The additional $2.3 million funding gap remains unresolved. The full breakdown — including how much of the total renovation cost is being contributed by Allen Morris and how much will come from city funds — is expected to be presented to the commission at its June 9 meeting.
The park’s namesake
Fred B. Hartnett Ponce Circle Park, located at 2810 Ponce de Leon Boulevard, was renamed in 1994 to honor Fred B. Hartnett, a former Coral Gables mayor who served from 1955 to 1957 and was among the founding members of the Church of the Little Flower, the Coral Gables Jaycees, and the Country Club of Coral Gables.
For additional information, contact Coral Gables Community Recreation at 305-460-5620 or ParksProjects@coralgables.com.
