The Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce presented developer Armando Codina with the George E. Merrick Award of Excellence, its highest individual honor, at a recent dinner last month at the Biltmore Hotel, recognizing a business career that has stretched from medical billing to some of South Florida’s largest real estate developments.
Codina, founder and executive chairman of Coral Gables-based Codina Partners, received the honor during the Chamber’s 2026 Annual Conference. The award, presented in partnership with The Allen Morris Company, recognizes a leader whose work has contributed to the cultural life, beautification, preservation or economic growth of Coral Gables. The Chamber established the award in 2008.
“I am certainly not deserving of this award, but I appreciate the honor,” Codina said in a statement issued by his firm. “Coral Gables has always been more than a place to build a business. It’s a place to build a future.”
From medical billing to real estate
Codina’s career began far from the large-scale developments for which he is now known.
A Cuban-American entrepreneur who came to Miami as a young man, Codina founded a medical billing and data-processing company in 1970. After selling the business in 1978, he moved into commercial real estate, founding Codina Group the following year and initially developing medical office buildings.
The firm grew into what Codina Partners describes as Florida’s largest privately held commercial real estate company. Codina Group merged in 2006 with Flagler Development Group, then part of Florida East Coast Industries, and Codina remained chairman of Flagler until 2010.
In 2009, he founded Codina Partners with his daughter, Ana-Marie Codina, who now serves as chief executive.
The firm’s largest undertaking is Downtown Doral, a 250-acre mixed-use development that includes more than 5,000 residential units, office and retail space, Doral’s government center, two charter schools and public spaces. Codina Partners says its investment in the project exceeds $1 billion.
Closer to home, its Coral Gables portfolio includes 2020 Salzedo, a 16-story rental building completed in 2018, and Regency Parc, an ultra-luxury residential tower with 126 rental residences.
Codina’s business career has also extended well beyond real estate. He has served on the boards of General Motors, American Airlines parent AMR Corp., BellSouth and The Home Depot. He also owns MBB Auto Group, a collection of luxury automobile dealerships in the Northeast.
A partnership tied to Florida political history
Codina’s career also intersects with the rise of one of Florida’s best-known political families.
After supporting George H.W. Bush’s 1980 presidential campaign in Florida, Codina brought Bush’s son, Jeb Bush, into his Miami real estate business. Bush, then in his 20s and new to real estate, eventually became Codina’s partner.
The business relationship helped establish Bush professionally in South Florida years before he was elected governor in 1998.
Codina, meanwhile, remained primarily in business rather than electoral politics. His civic work has included helping establish Community Partnership for the Homeless, now Chapman Partnership, following Hurricane Andrew, as well as service with a range of business, educational and nonprofit organizations.
An award named for the city’s founder
The George E. Merrick Award of Excellence was established in 2008 in partnership with The Allen Morris Company.
The Chamber says the award recognizes a “visionary leader” who has advanced the ideas associated with George E. Merrick through cultural achievement, promotion, beautification, preservation or economic growth in Coral Gables. Merrick founded both the city and the Chamber a century ago.
Codina joins a group that includes former mayors, business executives, preservationists, educators and other figures closely associated with the city’s civic life.
The Chamber’s historical roster through 2024 lists no recipient for 2020. Mayor Don Slesnick and his late wife, Jeannett, were jointly honored in 2025, with Jeannett recognized posthumously, before Codina received the award this year.
The list includes several names woven into Coral Gables history. Parks, the inaugural recipient, became one of the city’s leading historians and chroniclers of Merrick’s life. Dorothy Thomson and Jim Cason both served as mayor. Bill Kerdyk comes from a family with a long record of public service in the city, while Gene Prescott leads the Biltmore Hotel, one of Coral Gables’ most recognizable landmarks.
With no award listed in 2020, Codina’s recognition represents the 18th presentation since the Merrick Award was established in 2008.
Codina invokes Merrick’s legacy
The Aug. 20 dinner was itself held at a landmark closely tied to Merrick’s original vision for Coral Gables.
The Biltmore Hotel opened in 1926 during the city’s first great building boom and remains among the most visible symbols of the Mediterranean-inspired community Merrick set out to create.
Codina invoked that legacy in accepting the award.
“George E. Merrick understood the importance of creating a place where people could not only live and work, but truly feel a sense of belonging,” he said.
“To be recognized for his legacy is a great honor, and it reinforces my belief that we have a responsibility to continue investing in Coral Gables and preserving the culture and character that make this community so special for generations to come.”
The Merrick dinner opened the Chamber’s two-day annual conference Aug. 20-21 at the Biltmore. The Allen Morris Company presented the awards dinner, while Florida Blue served as presenting sponsor of the conference.
