By Coral Gables Gazette staff

After years of delay and redesign, the Coral Gables City Commission voted Tuesday to revive the city’s proposed Mobility Hub, selecting the Carved by Nature design for a structure expected to cost more than $60 million and replace two aging downtown garages.

The 3–1 vote ended a one-hour debate over height, cost, and public input, directing staff to refine the design and return with updated cost estimates and financing strategies, including a potential public-private partnership for the redevelopment of Garage 4. Mayor Vince Lago, Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson and Commissioner Richard Lara supported the motion. Commissioner Melissa Castro opposed. Commissioner Ariel Fernandez was absent.

Years of delay and redesign

The Mobility Hub has been under discussion for nearly a decade. The plan calls for replacing Garage 1 on Andalusia Avenue and consolidating functions of Garage 4, both considered obsolete. Garage 1’s façade has failed, and Garage 4 lacks an elevator making it Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) non-compliant. Together they account for more than 600 spaces, and staff argue a modern hub is necessary to sustain downtown, which generates nearly 30 percent of city property-tax revenues.

Early concepts envisioned a Mediterranean-style structure with retail and a rooftop park. Costs, once estimated at $30 to $40 million, rose above $60 million as construction prices surged, halting the project. In 2023, the commission ordered a redesign, asking for a more open, contemporary approach. The city retained Gensler, a global architecture, design, and planning firm, to do the design work.

Funding has also been contentious. A $975,000 earmark for electric-vehicle and solar components survived the 2022 state budget, but other requests were vetoed by the governor. Locally, officials have proposed redeveloping Garage 4 to offset costs — an idea that surfaced again Tuesday and drew pointed opposition.

Three design options

The item opened with a presentation by Shamim Ahmadzadegan, design director and principal at Gensler, who outlined three concepts — Vertical Canopy, Carved by Nature, and Decotropical. Each was offered as an alternative to faux-Mediterranean garages that, the design team argued, “force unsafe, dark interiors.”

Each option envisioned a building of just under 150 feet, a height dictated by the requirement for 626 spaces on a narrow site.

Mayor Lago supported Carved by Nature, describing past garages as unwelcoming and unsafe. “Downtown is 27 percent of our tax base — we can’t keep delaying this,” he said. He requested a shade study and suggested commissioning a wall mural from Hernan Bas. He also urged the city to pursue a public-private partnership for Garage 4 to help finance construction.

The project is widely viewed as central to Lago’s legacy. For more than a decade he has championed the idea of a mobility hub, arguing that modernized parking and transportation facilities are vital to downtown’s economic health. Tuesday’s vote represented the first time a commission majority aligned with his push to take the project off the shelf.

Vice Mayor Anderson also supported Option 2, emphasizing practicality. She recommended vines on sunlit walls instead of shaded ramps and suggested activating “dead corners” with features such as a climbing gym or juice bar. She noted that prior public feedback had leaned toward Art Deco with greenery and said she was receiving live messages of support for Option 2 during the meeting.

Commissioner Lara argued that the project was overdue, warning against “paralysis through overanalysis.” He called Garage 1 unsafe for families and said the new hub would support downtown businesses. Of the designs, he said, “Number one is pretty, but number two fits better.”

Commissioner Castro pressed hardest on the hub’s height and scale. She asked why the structure needed to be so tall, remarked that some designs resembled Lincoln Road more than Coral Gables, and insisted residents should have direct input before the city committed $60 million. When she learned Garage 4 could be sold to help finance the project, she said she would not support the plan. “This scale does not fit with the historic downtown,” she said.

Staff and public input

City Manager Peter Iglesias said the 626-space requirement comes from combining Garages 1 and 4, both of which he described as obsolete. He emphasized that Garage 4 would remain in use until the new hub was complete, and noted that the consolidation plan has been studied for more than a decade.

Parking and Mobility Director Monica Beltran called parking a “quality-of-life issue,” saying that two garages a block apart was impractical. She stressed the importance of safe circulation inside the hub and highlighted its proximity to trolley service and its capacity for EV charging.

Public comment showed the same divide. Maria Cruz opposed the hub, saying residents have rejected it before. Jackson “Rip” Holmes supported building the garage but opposed selling Garage 4, warning of overdevelopment. Lisa Detournay, appearing on Zoom, urged eliminating the ground-floor retail and rooftop park to reduce the hub’s height and aligned with Castro’s concerns.

Vote and next steps

After an hour of discussion, the commission voted to proceed with Carved by Nature. The motion, which Anderson made and Lara seconded, directs staff to return at the next meeting with refined costs and a financing plan, including a public-private partnership for Garage 4.

The decision revives a project that has been stalled for years. With one commissioner opposed, one absent, and residents still voicing concerns, questions about cost and scale remain as the Mobility Hub moves into its next phase.