By the Coral Gables Gazette editorial board

For three decades, we’ve watched Coral Gables leaders try to “revive” Miracle Mile. Each generation has its plan: a Business Improvement District here, a streetscape project there, and now, pop-ups, art activations and “signature days.” All share a common goal — to restore the kind of lively, walkable central district that once defined the City Beautiful. And all have largely failed to reckon with a more inconvenient truth: the downtown Coral Gables of memory no longer exists.

The City Commission’s latest initiatives deserve credit. The pop-up pilot proposed by Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson and the “Signature Day” concept advanced by Commissioner Melissa Castro reflect sincere civic intent — a recognition that something must be done to animate vacant storefronts and reintroduce residents to their own downtown. They are small but thoughtful steps toward energizing Miracle Mile and Giralda Avenue.

But as former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld might have put it, the city is fighting the last war. Miracle Mile’s retail struggles are not unique, and they cannot be solved by the same tools. The problem is not simply foot traffic or vacancy. It is the evolution of commerce itself — the dominance of e-commerce, the rise of home delivery, and the decline of destination shopping as a civic pastime. In an era of Amazon and Uber Eats, retail and restaurant turnover are symptoms of downtown malaise.

That does not mean Coral Gables should surrender its ambition for a vibrant core. It means it must define vibrancy differently. A downtown can no longer depend on imported visitors; it must rely on its own residents. That begins with ways to bring more housing into the heart of the city, so that people live, work, and spend within walking distance. A downtown of shopkeepers without shoppers is a museum of intent — charming, but hollow.

Equally critical is the need for the city to invest directly in its own success. Coral Gables has long approached downtown revitalization as a public-private partnership, with the public cheering from the sidelines. The city subsidizes parking and sponsors events but has hesitated to put real financial skin in the game — to invest in public improvements that go beyond aesthetics. Revitalization will not come free, and pretending it can be achieved through marketing alone is civic wishful thinking.

If Coral Gables wants a thriving downtown, it will require public money as well as political courage. Streamlined permitting will make opening a business faster and less expensive — a basic but long-overdue reform.

This does not preclude the planned pilot programs. Pop-ups and art installations can build momentum and signal possibility. But they must serve as prelude, not performance. The temptation to declare victory after each activation should be resisted. Coral Gables does not need another season of activity; it needs a sustained economic plan that defines what its central business district will be in the 2030s and beyond.

The answer will not lie in nostalgia. The Mile will never again be the retail boulevard it once was. Yet it can become something better: a model for how historic cities adapt with grace, preserving their architecture while evolving their use. That transformation will take patience, planning, and yes, money — but it will also reaffirm Coral Gables’ civic character as a place that builds intentionally, not reactively.

The commissioners who advanced these proposals have shown initiative. The next step is resolve. Coral Gables can spend another decade chasing yesterday’s downtown, or it can confront today’s realities and build the next one. The difference will depend on whether it can summon both the courage and the public investment that true renewal demands.