By Coral Gables Gazette staff

The Coral Gables City Commission has unanimously approved a long-awaited plan to restore City Hall, launching one of the most significant historic preservation projects in the municipality’s history. The twin actions — authorizing the restoration plan and selecting a construction manager — mark steps forward for a project discussed for more than two decades but never realized until now.

No cost estimate was discussed at the Oct. 28 commission meeting.

The commission voted 5–0 to direct City Manager Peter Iglesias to proceed with the restoration plan developed by Coral Gables-based R.J. Heisenbottle Architects, P.A., and to award the Construction Manager at Risk contract to Thornton Construction Company, Inc., the top-ranked proposer.

Built in 1928 by P.J. Davis Construction and designed by Phineas Paist and Harold Steward on a $200,000 budget, Coral Gables City Hall is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The building’s structural concerns led the city to temporarily relocate commission meetings last year, though the move was never made permanent, and the commission returned to City Hall last spring.

Comprehensive restoration

Architect Richard J. Heisenbottle, FAIA, presented the restoration plan in a detailed briefing that traced City Hall’s history and outlined its structural and aesthetic challenges. He described a two-year project designed to preserve the building’s original Mediterranean Revival character while addressing decades of water damage, material deterioration, and accessibility deficiencies.

“We have really just completed a very comprehensive assessment of just about everything you could ever imagine assessing in the building,” Heisenbottle said. “The most extensive of those repairs involve the columns and the semicircular colonnade that defines City Hall’s façade.”

The building’s coral-rock limestone—no longer quarried in Florida—has suffered extensive cracking and spalling, with some structural elements weakened by corroded reinforcement. Heisenbottle explained that four major columns, discovered to be solid limestone rather than reinforced concrete as originally specified, must be shored and rebuilt internally with concealed steel supports. The project will also correct roof leaks, restore damaged cornices, and repair the third-floor balustrades that have fractured along their lengths.

Specialty consultants in historic masonry, including Atkinson & Nolan, have been retained to guide structural stabilization and documentation. Each component of the façade has been mapped, photographed, and categorized for repair, ensuring that materials are either preserved, patched, or—if beyond recovery—precisely replicated through 3-D scanning and fabrication.

Reviving the courtyard

Heisenbottle’s plan also re-envisions the City Hall courtyard, historically designed by architect Phineas E. Paist as a symmetrical civic garden aligned with the tower and mayor’s balcony. Over the decades, mid-century additions and paving destroyed its symmetry and replaced open planters with concrete.

The new design restores the courtyard’s four green quadrants, reinstates the original walkways, removes a non-historic auxiliary structure, and reintroduces flowering trees and planters for shade and storm-water absorption. A century-old septic tank beneath the courtyard will be removed.

Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson praised the proposal: “You actually get to see the building more,” she said, noting that the restoration would re-establish both the garden’s beauty and its public purpose. Heisenbottle added that the renewed layout will also accommodate new public restrooms, reducing the need for temporary facilities during downtown events such as the Farmers Market.

Commissioner Richard Lara, who lives in a Paist-designed home, applauded the design’s historical fidelity. “It’s inspirational what I see,” he said. “The people’s house should reflect the special privilege it is for us to serve here.”

Restoring the Commission Chamber

Inside City Hall, the most visible transformation will occur in the commission chamber, which Heisenbottle described as having “nothing remotely original” left after decades of alterations. The restoration reorients the room to its original layout, increases seating capacity, and introduces new accessibility features for both the public and the dais.

Historic elements—including the stone flooring, dark-oak millwork, and decorative wainscoting—will be replicated based on early photographs and drawings by original architect Phineas Paist and draftsman Damien Fink. The city’s portrait of founder George Merrick and the official seal will remain behind the mayor’s chair, as they did in the 1930s.

“This will bring back the dignity and elegance worthy of this building,” Heisenbottle said. “It’s not about modernizing for its own sake—it’s about restoring the intent of those who built it.”

Commissioners responded enthusiastically. Commissioner Melissa Castro said she had been skeptical before the presentation but left “amazed and very happy” with the design. She supported Option B, which restores natural light through newly opened windows and repositions the dais to face them. “All of us are going to look better with natural light coming in,” she said.

Timeline and temporary relocation

City Manager Iglesias confirmed that the city intends to relocate offices early next year to prepare for construction. “Our plan is to move out of this building for exploratory demolition either late January or early February,” he told the commission. “We are finishing the space for the commission now at the Minorca Garage.”

Under the accelerated schedule, construction is projected to begin in the third quarter of 2026. Heisenbottle estimated a two-year construction period, though both architect and city staff emphasized their goal to shorten it where possible. The project will incorporate ADA-compliant access points from both the front and rear entrances, resolving long-standing mobility issues.

A long-awaited milestone

Mayor Vince Lago called the vote a historic milestone for Coral Gables. “We’ve talked about this for two decades—about having City Hall accomplished,” he said. “Now we have the architect, the engineer, the design, the windows and the contractor. We’re off to the races.”

Lago credited Iglesias, Assistant City Manager Carolina Vester and Deputy City Manager Joe Gomez, the finance and procurement teams and Heisenbottle’s firm for their persistence. He described the project as personal, saying that true restoration—not cosmetic repair—honors the building’s civic symbolism.

“If we’re going to do this right, let’s do it right for real,” Lago said, suggesting that the stairwells and balustrades, which were cast rather than carved stone on upper floors, be upgraded to genuine stone where feasible. Iglesias responded that the city would price those options now that a construction manager is in place.

Moving forward

With the commission’s approval of both resolutions, Coral Gables can now begin final design coordination, permitting, and value-engineering with Thornton Construction. The city’s goal, Iglesias said, is a seamless transition between design completion and construction start, minimizing disruption while ensuring preservation accuracy.

Vice Mayor Anderson, who made both motions, emphasized the broader civic importance of the restoration. She noted that City Hall’s revival, along with ongoing streetscape improvements on Biltmore Way, will reinforce the Mediterranean design legacy that defines Coral Gables.

Commissioner Ariel Fernandez added that the project will elevate both the exterior and interior of the landmark. “This brings the garden to the front door of the building,” he said. “It will really elevate the look of City Hall.”

When completed, the restored City Hall will serve as both a working government facility and a renewed architectural statement of Coral Gables’ identity—a building meant to embody, as Lara put it, “the ideals of the City Beautiful.”