By Coral Gables Gazette staff

Coral Gables residents who attended a public meeting Monday on the proposed redesign of Fred B. Hartnett Ponce Circle Park were overwhelmingly supportive of plans to transform the downtown green space into what architects describe as Coral Gables’ future cultural park, though some raised concerns about noise, traffic and a centerpiece sculpture already approved by city commissioners.

About 20 residents attended the in-person meeting on June 1 at the Coral Gables Adult Activity Center, while roughly 10 others participated via Zoom. The meeting marked the start of a month-long public comment period on the proposed $11.2 million redevelopment of the park, which sits at the southern gateway to downtown Coral Gables.

Community Recreation Director Fred Couceyro opened the meeting with a review of the park’s history and the city actions that led to the current proposal. He noted that Ponce Circle Park has long been identified for renovation and has recently hosted numerous community events, including the Coral Gables Pumpkin Patch, Carnaval de Barranquilla celebrations, Festival of Lights activities and, most recently, a University of Miami football national championship watch party. He hesitated to give a timeline on construction of the redesign, saying the city was focused on gathering input first. 

The bulk of the presentation was led by architect Maria de la Guardia of de la Guardia Victoria Architects & Urbanists, whose firm designed the proposed park.

De la Guardia said the design team studied George Merrick’s original planning concepts and sought to address what they viewed as the park’s biggest shortcomings, including the lack of use for everyday residents. “Sitting in the park, you feel too exposed,” she told attendees. “You are essentially sitting in a traffic circle with cars whizzing around you.”

To solve that problem, the design calls for a continuous canopy of large shade trees around the perimeter of the park, along with shrubs and landscaping intended to create a sense of enclosure and shield visitors from surrounding traffic and nearby buildings.

An odeon, sculpture garden and shaded promenades

The redesign would anchor the park with two major features. At the south end would be an open-air Odeon, a classical performance structure inspired by Coral Gables City Hall. She explained that the term “Odeon” comes from Ancient Greece and refers to a place designed for musical performances, poetry and singing. “This place of sound is what gives Ponce Circle Park its cultural identity,” she said.

At the opposite end of the park would be a sculpture garden centered around Frank Stella’s “Puffed & Inverted Star II,” a large geometric sculpture rising from a raised, flat fountain. Landscape architects discussed efforts to elevate the sculpture within a water feature while incorporating landscaping elements to discourage children from climbing on it.

The design also includes pavilions and arcades along the eastern and western edges of the park, creating shaded promenades and gathering spaces. Between the pavilions, residents would find pathways surfaced with soft compacted gravel intended to evoke the atmosphere of a European-style park. Built-in seating, movable chairs and additional gathering areas are also planned throughout the site.

Early enthusiasm for a new downtown centerpiece

Nicolas Cabrera, speaking from the perspective of community events, said the redesign would make the park more functional for public programming. “Now we have a park that creates the perfect opportunity for events like this and more to take place,” Cabrera said, citing previous events such as Moon Over the Gables.

Another resident who lives just south of the park on San Sebastian Avenuecalled the design “beautiful” and said it would transform the space into an “elegant, chic, sophisticated and functional park.” “I know this is going to be an icon,” she said.

Questions emerge over noise, access and public art

Other residents, however, focused on potential impacts to nearby neighborhoods. Maite Cabada, who lives on Palermo Avenue, said her primary concern was noise from future performances and events. “Every time there’s a big event there, we hear it,” she said. “The noise and the acoustics are a problem.” Cabada also questioned whether the new performance venue could lead to more frequent events and criticized the limited discussion of acoustics during the presentation.

Couceyro responded that city officials are working with audio engineers on the project and said the orientation of the performance space was intentionally designed to direct sound away from residential neighborhoods. “Any concert that takes place there, we have code enforcement that’s there and they do metered readings,” he said.

Several residents also questioned whether Stella’s contemporary sculpture fit the traditional aesthetic of the park. One suggested a statue of Juan Ponce de León might be more appropriate, while another attendee said a European-style fountain would better complement the design.

City officials noted that the commission has already approved the purchase and installation of the sculpture through a separate vote.

Other concerns focused on pedestrian safety. Resident Maria Mercedes urged the city to improve crossings into the park, particularly from the south side. In response, both Couceyro and de la Guardia said future roadway improvements would include traffic-calming measures designed to slow vehicles approaching the park.

The city will continue collecting public comments through June 30 before advancing the project into final design, permitting and procurement phases. Residents can review plans and submit feedback through the city’s parks projects website.