The roof was partly gone, the second floor was open to the elements, and peafowl were nesting in the debris. When Coral Gables building officials inspected the partially demolished house at 1021 Hardee Road last year, they found an abandoned construction site they considered a danger to neighboring properties.
After the owner failed to stabilize the building, the city hired a contractor to do the work. Now it wants to recover the cost.
The Construction Regulation Board will consider Monday whether to authorize a $268,752.40 lien against the property for emergency stabilization. The request comes after the City Commission ratified up to $190,000 for the work last year, leaving a $78,752.40 difference that the case file does not explain.
The dispute leads an 11-property agenda that includes five century-old apartment buildings containing 64 residential units, all cited for failing to complete required safety recertifications. The board meets at 2 p.m. Monday, Nov. 16, at 427 Biltmore Way.
A historic house left open to the elements
The house at 1021 Hardee Road was built in 1925, the year Coral Gables was incorporated. It is a contributing property in the city’s French City Village Historic District. Its owner, the Juan M. Delgado Revocable Trust, began a renovation under permits issued in 2023 that later stalled.
City inspectors reported that the owner had removed the roof over the ground floor and portions of the second-story roof and floor without adequately supporting the remaining structure. Construction had stopped, leaving the building exposed to rain.
The case file describes cracks and deteriorating concrete, missing doors and windows, rodent and termite infestations, and peafowl nesting among the debris. It also cites cracks in shared walls that allowed water into an adjoining property and loose construction materials that could damage neighboring homes during a hurricane.
The building official issued an emergency notice in June 2025. The following month, the Construction Regulation Board and Code Enforcement Board ordered the owner to provide structural shoring, protect adjoining properties from water intrusion and resume permitted restoration work.
The orders included daily fines of $1,000 for missed requirements.
When the owner failed to complete the shoring, the city hired Gavarrete Inc. to stabilize the structure and address water intrusion. The emergency work passed final inspection in September 2025.
The financial dispute has since become the central issue.
In August 2025, the City Commission adopted Resolution 2025-287, ratifying emergency stabilization and water-intrusion work by Gavarrete in an amount not to exceed $190,000.
The city now seeks a lien for $268,752.40, a difference of $78,752.40. The case resume does not explain how the larger amount was calculated or identify the expenses included beyond the earlier authorization.
The owner has challenged the assessment. In April, attorney Kyle B. Teal of Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney requested a hearing to contest the city’s bill. The board has deferred consideration four times since July.
The building official is asking the board to find that emergency action was justified because the partially demolished structure presented an immediate danger of failure or collapse, and to recognize the city’s claim for the full amount.
The property has also drawn scrutiny from the city’s historic preservation authorities. The Historic Preservation Board discussed its deteriorating condition and the ongoing enforcement proceedings last year.
The Gazette reported on demolition-by-neglect allegations at the property in July 2025, when the case was before the Code Enforcement Board.
Five century-old buildings face recertification hearings
The largest concentration of cases affecting residential properties involves four buildings on Menores Avenue and one on nearby Antilla Avenue.
All five were built in 1926 and were last recertified in 2016. Their regular 10-year recertifications were due this year.
The properties are 102 Menores Ave., with 12 units; 115 Menores, with 12; 119 Menores, with 16 condominiums; 123 Menores, with 16 units; and 114 Antilla Ave., with eight units.
Together, they contain 64 residential units, although the case files do not establish how many are occupied.
The owners are separate entities or individuals. Flat Coral Gables LLC owns 102 Menores; Gables Global Investments LLC owns 115 Menores; Menores Condominium Association Inc. owns 119 Menores; Linda La Barbera owns 123 Menores; and Trimini LLC owns 114 Antilla.
Each received notices from the city beginning two years before its scheduled 2026 recertification. Additional notices followed in 2025 and January 2026.
The city issued unsafe-structure violation notices Nov. 3 after the required recertifications remained incomplete.
The designation requires an important distinction. The case files do not establish that the five buildings are structurally unsound or in danger of collapse. They were declared unsafe under the city’s code because their owners had not submitted the structural and electrical documentation required to demonstrate compliance.
Under Miami-Dade County’s building recertification program, which applies in Coral Gables, most buildings must undergo their initial recertification after 30 years and every 10 years thereafter.
Two properties show documented progress.
At 123 Menores and 114 Antilla, engineers submitted letters in April attesting that the buildings were structurally and electrically safe for occupancy. Both received administrative extensions that expired June 29, and their records show electrical permit activity associated with recertification or repairs.
The city says neither property has submitted current safety letters and the complete recertification reports required for approval.
For all five buildings, the building official recommends giving owners 30 days to submit current structural and electrical reports and safe-to-occupy letters, followed by 60 days to complete recertification.
Owners who miss those deadlines could face $250 daily fines.
The proposed orders also preserve the building official’s authority to take additional measures if necessary to protect occupants and neighboring properties, including evacuation, utility disconnection or demolition. The city is not requesting immediate evacuation of the five buildings in the case resumes.
Commercial properties remain overdue
Several commercial properties will also return to the board.
At 371 Miracle Mile, listed on the agenda as 371 Coral Way, a commercial building constructed in 1952 has been overdue for recertification since 2022.
Earlier engineering reports identified repairs, and the board imposed deadlines in April 2023. A July 2026 engineer’s letter attested that the building was structurally and electrically safe for occupancy, but the city says satisfactory final recertification reports remain outstanding.
The building official recommends keeping the previous order in effect and imposing an additional $500 daily fine if the property is not recertified within 45 days.
At 3301 Ponce de Leon Blvd., a 1990 office building, the owner returns seeking another extension after previous deadlines expired. The city acknowledges engineering letters and ongoing permit activity but says revised reports free of deficiencies have not been submitted.
A Mobil service station at 375 South Dixie Highway, built in 1988, has been overdue since 2024. Structural and electrical reports submitted in April identified repairs that remained unresolved in the city’s records.
A retail building at 1132 South Dixie Highway, constructed in 1956, is also scheduled for a hearing over missing recertification documents.
Another abandoned home faces daily fines
The remaining residential case involves 10550 Old Cutler Road, a single-family house built in 2003.
The city says the owner, Queen Gabriela Corp., abandoned a partially demolished renovation after a building permit expired in June.
The Code Enforcement Board imposed a $1,000 daily fine in September, to continue until the project is completed or the structure is demolished and the lot restored.
The owner applied for a demolition permit in October, but the city’s case resume lists the application as denied.
The building official is asking the Construction Regulation Board to require either completion of the permitted work or properly authorized demolition.
If you go…
The Construction Regulation Board meets at 2 p.m. Monday, Nov. 16, in the first-floor conference room at 427 Biltmore Way.
The public may attend in person or participate through Zoom, using meeting ID 833 5373 4595. Telephone participation is available at 305-461-6769.
The meeting agenda and case materials are available through the city’s legislative records.
Author: Coral Gables Gazette News Staff
Originally established in 1996 and relaunched as a digital publication in February 2025, the Coral Gables Gazette is an independent local news organization dedicated to factual, objective and accountable community journalism. Our newsroom reports on the people, policies, institutions and events shaping Coral Gables, Florida, providing residents with timely, informative coverage of the issues affecting their community. Our reporting includes City Hall, local government, municipal elections, public spending, real estate development, business, education, arts and culture, and neighborhood affairs throughout the City Beautiful. We follow City Commission decisions, examine public records and report on the businesses, organizations and individuals contributing to Coral Gables. We believe informed residents are essential to a healthy, engaged community. Stories published under the Coral Gables Gazette News Staff byline are prepared or compiled by the publication's editorial team. We strive for accuracy, fairness, transparency and clear distinctions between news reporting, opinion and advertising. Readers are encouraged to submit news tips, corrections, editorial inquiries and story suggestions through our Contact page and learn more about our standards through our Editorial Policy.
