By Coral Gables Gazette staff
In a 3-2 vote, the Coral Gables Commission denied an appeal of its Board of Architects Special Master decision in January and cleared the way for a 9-story development to move forward on Phoenetia Avenue in the North Ponce District of the city.
The vote on February 10 came after a cavalcade of supporters for and against the project spoke on a multitude of aspects of the proposal, despite the fact that the commission’s role, in this case, was simply to affirm or deny the special master’s decision based on specific criteria.
Even so, speakers weighed in on everything from the timely importance of moving the project forward for the benefit of a school for children with disabilities on the property to whether a project of the proposed size and scale fits within the historic character of the neighborhood.
In the end, despite three hours of comments and a considerable amount of time spent determining how much time speakers would get at the meeting – and had received at previous ones – the majority of the commission supported the special masters’ determination.
For developers, the vote means the project could move forward in its approval process after several years of being mired in the city’s design review process. For residents and preservationists who sought to save a garden and tree on the property, it means the chances of the new development being halted or redesigned dropped significantly. The project must still undergo rezoning review by the Planning and Zoning Board and City Commission before construction can begin.
The project must still undergo rezoning review by the Planning and Zoning Board and City Commission before construction can begin. The Chicago-based developer Fifield Companies, which is under contract to acquire the property, has said it expects construction to begin next year and be completed by 2029 if approvals are secured. Plans call for a nine-story mixed-use development with approximately 200 residential units and structured parking. As part of the proposal, the developer has committed to building a new facility for Crystal Academy, allowing the school serving children with autism to continue operating on the site.
Before hearing public comment, City Attorney Cristina Suárez reminded the commission that the quasi-judicial appeal was limited in scope. Commissioners were tasked with determining whether due process was afforded, whether the essential requirements of law were followed, and whether the special master’s decision was supported by competent substantial evidence, and not reconsidering zoning issues or taking new testimony.
Due process and time restrictions dominate discussion
Resident Bonnie Bolton, who has long objected to the project and has been a leader of the opposition, spoke about the historical significance of the Garden of Our Lord and a tree she estimated to be more than a century old. She also argued that her due-process rights were violated during a previous hearing because, she said, the developer was allowed significantly more speaking time.
“In the transcript… you can see where I began to speak and where I end. It’s about 20 pages,” Bolton told commissioners. “And then where the developer has an opportunity to speak, it goes on for approximately 40-45 pages. So that incontrovertibly demonstrates that they got more time.”
Bolton said she was asked to conclude her remarks during the special master hearing. “There were certainly additional comments that I would have made, but I was told to stop… my due process was violated in a major manner at that hearing,” she said.
City officials rejected that claim. Assistant City Attorney Gustavo Ceballos, who kept time during the earlier proceeding, said he observed no due-process violations and that standard time limits were applied.
Commissioner Richard Lara questioned David Winker, the attorney representing opponents, about whether any objection had been raised during the special master hearing. The attorney acknowledged that he did not object to the allotted time or request additional time and confirmed that Bolton had not been denied the minimum time provided, maintaining instead that the concern was the longer presentation by the developer’s team.
At one point during the meeting, Mayor Vince Lago began calling out how much time speakers went over or under their allotted speaking time so the record would reflect that equal time was given to both sides. Again, for the record, that happens at every commission meeting,” Lago said. “I don’t think your rights have been in any form or any way trampled.”
Lago and Commissioner Melissa Castro briefly clashed after Castro suggested the due-process concern deserved consideration. The mayor cautioned commissioners against characterizing the situation as a violation when city staff had stated otherwise.
Residents split on importance impact of proposed design
Public comment reflected broader concerns about preservation and development in the North Ponce neighborhood, with most speakers arguing against the project, but with several supporting it. Gina Guilford, president of the historic preservation group The Villagers, urged commissioners to protect what she described as a historic green space connected to the former St. James Lutheran Church property.
“This is not just about a church or a garden or even a 100-year-old tree,” Guilford said. “Voting against this project is about preserving the soul of this neighborhood.”
Resident Kelley Schild echoed concerns about neighborhood character and zoning precedent, telling commissioners the project’s scale would require significant zoning changes later in the process and could encourage overdevelopment.
Balancing those concerns, Kelly Vedrani, whose son attends Crystal Academy, spoke about the importance of the project for families who rely on the specialized school. “My son has been at Crystal Academy for eight years. It is his home away from home,” Vedrani said. “These special-needs residents and their families are waiting to move forward because Crystal is the only school of its kind in our city and the neighboring community. We ask the commission to consider how important it is to move forward with these plans because we need to provide our children with predictability.”
Ultimately, Lago, Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson and Lara concluded that the appeal did not meet the legal threshold required to overturn the special master’s decision, allowing the design approval to stand and the project to proceed to its next stages of review.
This Post Has 11 Comments
Are we surprised? So many people said no and fought this but here we go again. Lago and his puppets vote for more construction and the destruction of an area that should not be destroyed. When are you people going to see how autocratic Lago is and how he only wants more and more construction and the city to run his way only. Issue after issue and this terrible Mayor votes against the people. He thinks anything we want is not a concern. Please recall this “no good, terrible” Mayor and his 2 puppets. He is in developers pockets for what?
Long after this meeting is forgotten, the legacy of this decision WILL REMAIN—
Either in what you chose to protect…
or…in what you allowed to be lost.
The City of Coral Gables did not delay this project. The owners tragedy and sale of the property put the project in limbo.
This vote be the Coral Gbkes commission goes against what this city and its residents stand for. Criminal. I want to know how I can protest. The greed of this administration is destructive and obscene. Help!!!
I believe ONE gentleman at the meeting pointed out that the two historic trees, if moved, may still die. NO ONE pointed out the amount of time it takes to move these trees. I have spoken with Jody Haynes, who works for Signature Palms. He actually moves trees like this for a living. He told me it would take over a year or more and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to move these trees and there is NO GUARANTEE they will survive.
I don’t know about you, but I had to get a permit to cut down a tree that was diseased on my property in Coral Gables. But the City and/or developers can just cut down trees with no questions asked and no consequences? Talk about double standards!
Also, Cristal Academy is still operating at this location and no disruptions will occur for the students UNTIL the construction begins. Right now the children have their same school with over 20,000 square feet of garden. Once construction starts they will be displaced for over 3 years AND when they come back to their new facility they will have less than 4,000 square feet of green space. I know the parents have been supporting the project but have they really thought this through?
Let’s all get behind Bonnie Bolton and stop this project with their request to REZONE.
Century Crystal Group, LLC (Sergio Pino) purchased the property for $9.75M on 11/8/21. The property has substantially increased in value with the grant of its Zoning Code exception. Pino and his companies gave Lago and his friendly PACs $20,500 from 2021 to 2024.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12j6qpMgvfdDjruQsobQto8OSmE5Tp5rj952iFNpo6GY/edit?gid=1693088556#gid=1693088556
Century/Pino also gave Lara $3,000 on 4/9/25. To be transparent, why was this not disclosed? Anderson disclosed how she had recused herself because she had family living in the area. But then did not recuse herself from voting to support the decision by the 3 Masters to allow the building of this incompatible high-density real estate development.
The deference of Lago, Anderson & Lara to the decision by the 3 Masters (Bermello, Font & Alvarez) also needs disclosure for transparency. Bermello contributed $1,000 to the campaign of each of Lago, Lara and Anderson. Font gave $1,000 to Lago’s campaign. Behar (Font’s partner) gave $2,000 to Lara’s campaign. A judge will recuse himself if there is an appearance of impropriety to maintain the public’s confidence in the judicial system. This process has the appearance of impropriety! The lawyers on the Commission did not discuss that. Developers providing financial support to this Commission majority (that recently rejected disclosure of post-vote consideration) continue to reap benefits.
We voted for less development, not more. The mayor and most of the commissioners should be recalled/replaced.
Read :commission needs transpareny” comment. These lowlifes who took money for their political advancement and then supported the developer needs to be brought to ethics. This is conflict of interest with no disclosure. Disgusting how they were paid off. This vote needs to be cancelled. YOU WORK FOR US not developers who are paying you off. Any lawyers want to take this on? I am appalled at how Lago and his gang can stoop so low.
Let this be a lesson. If you vote for Lago or his allies, you will get Brickell. If you let Aesop or Nicolas Cabrera distract you from the key issue, you will get Brickell. If you ignore who is financing the candidates, you will get Brickell.
Amen, Alberto. Amen.
ModerationCheck_f09d00cbd4ea