By Coral Gables Gazette staff

Development projects in Coral Gables typically pit developers against residents, with city officials caught somewhere in the middle. But a new mixed-use proposal just north of SW 8th Street on Ponce de Leon Boulevard has managed to do the rarest of things in the City Beautiful: bring all sides together, at least for now.

Mayor Vince Lago appeared almost giddy during Tuesday’s first reading of the 760 Ponce project, often emphasizing that the proposed development had unified sides often at odds. “ We unified East and West Germany,” Lago said with a smile. “We’re together again.” He later called the effort a model for how development and resident engagement should work in Coral Gables.

Plan replaces dated structures with new mix

The project, proposed by 760 Ponce de Leon Blvd. LLC and represented by attorney Jorge Navarro, would replace an aging, partially obsolete medical office building and surface parking lot that have long strained the surrounding single-family neighborhood. The 2.05-acre site sits at Ponce and Boadilla, immediately north of Southwest 8th Street, and currently carries a patchwork of zoning—some single-family, some mixed-use, and some grandfathered commercial parking.

Navarro said the plan before the commission is the result of “a lot of collaboration and working with neighborhood residents” over nearly two years. Early versions of the project were revised repeatedly after dozens of meetings between the development team, city staff and homeowners on Avila Court, Boabadilla Street and surrounding blocks.

Design creates buffer between commercial and residential

Architect Robert Behar, who also sits on the city’s Planning and Zoning Board, described the design as a mixed-use medical office building fronting Ponce with a true residential buffer along the west side. “You’ll see that the project is oriented primarily to face Ponce de Leon,” Behar said. “We’ve limited and eliminated any access to the residential development all along Avila and Boadilla. Everything is internalized.” A key design change: all patient and visitor drop-offs will occur inside the garage, eliminating the long-standing problem of cars loading and unloading on neighborhood streets.

The plan now includes four two-story townhomes along the western edge to transition from commercial to single-family homes, 18,300 square feet of ground-floor commercial space, roughly 88,000 square feet of medical office space, a public plaza, 545 garage parking spaces and more than 20,000 square feet of open space. The building tops out at five stories, or 61 feet.

Residents describe progress after two years of talks

Residents who once fiercely opposed earlier concepts said the final version represents real progress. Vicky Lusso, who lives on Boadilla Street, told commissioners, “We’ve been talking to the developer and the attorney. Sometimes it was brutal… things happened. But we worked everything out. They didn’t get everything we wanted, we didn’t get everything we wanted. But we got something good. I think that’s an improvement in the neighborhood.” While still worried about traffic, she said the team committed to working through those issues.

Commission highlights gains on traffic and buffering

City commissioners echoed the sense of relief. Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson, who said she had “lost count” of her resident meetings, highlighted one of the community’s biggest wins: preventing project traffic from exiting onto the residential streets. “The current zoning actually requires traffic to exit onto the neighborhood,” Anderson said. “We got a good result here by requiring that not to happen.”

Commissioner Ariel Fernández called the project transformational for a section of Ponce that has long felt overlooked. “The townhomes are going to create that buffer… and the landscaping will protect those neighbors across the street,” he said. “This is going to be one of the up-and-coming neighborhoods in our city.” Fernández said the project, paired with sidewalk and streetscape upgrades, would make the area “a focus of Coral Gables.”

City Manager Peter Iglesias added that the city is preparing to begin design on “Phase Four” of the Ponce streetscape – from 8th Street to Flagler -with opportunities to integrate traffic-calming, tree canopy and sidewalk improvements requested by residents.

Commission vote splits

Despite broad support, the vote was not unanimous. Commissioner Melissa Castro, who has consistently opposed rezonings and Comprehensive Plan changes, voted no. She said she was following through on her commitment to resist zoning changes even when the underlying project is well-received. “My responsibility is to safeguard the character and stability of our neighborhoods. When a proposal requires a rezoning, especially near residential blocks, I evaluate the long term precedent it sets and whether it aligns with the vision and protections our residents rely on,” she wrote in a statement to the Gazette.

Although the rest of the commission talked at length about the numerous meetings they had with developers, Castro confirmed that they never met with her. “That simply reflects something I have been clear about since the day I was elected. Developers know exactly where I stand. I represent the residents and the preservation of our neighborhoods.”

Although Castro said she “respect(s) the improvements that were made” she insisted that “zoning changes must be rare, well justified, and consistent with our long range plan. My vote reflects my commitment to maintaining the integrity and identity of the City Beautiful.”

Final approval depends on traffic, streetscape plans

The proposal returns for a second reading in the coming weeks, with the mayor and commissioners insisting a detailed breakdown of traffic-calming commitments, landscaping upgrades and resident-approved street improvements before giving final approval. “I don’t want neighbors to feel like they didn’t get their just due. I want to see these things before second reading,” Lago said.