By Coral Gables Gazette staff
St. Thomas Episcopal Parish Church and School is proposing a campus master plan that would add a two-story parking structure, a wellness center, and redesigned student circulation areas at its property on North Kendall Drive.
The proposal is scheduled to appear Friday, March 20, at 9:30 a.m. before the city’s Development Review Committee, the administrative panel that provides technical feedback on development projects before they advance through Coral Gables’ formal approval process. The meeting will be held in the first-floor conference room at 427 Biltmore Way.
The campus occupies roughly six acres at the southeast corner of North Kendall Drive and Red Road and currently serves about 465 students from preschool through eighth grade. The proposed master plan would reorganize parking, student circulation, and campus facilities through a series of phased improvements intended to address traffic flow, expand academic space, and improve safety during student arrival and dismissal.
Founded in 1950, St. Thomas occupies property bordered by North Kendall Drive, Red Road and Banyan Drive. The campus includes a church, classrooms, administrative buildings, athletic fields, playground areas, and surface parking. City records show the property was annexed into Coral Gables in 1996 and designated under the city’s Special Use zoning category, which accommodates schools, churches, and other civic institutions.
Master plan developed with prominent architects
The project centers on a long-range plan developed by the church and school’s master plan committee with the guidance of architects Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, Joanna Lombard, and Luigi Vitalini. Plater-Zyberk is co-founder of the Congress for the New Urbanism, former dean of the University of Miami School of Architecture, and designer of Seaside, Florida — one of the most studied planned communities in the country.
One of the most significant elements of the proposal is a two-story parking pavilion designed to increase on-site parking capacity and reorganize vehicle circulation on the campus. Plans show the structure integrated with landscaped elements, including rooftop trees and garden space, along with a redesigned parking layout that introduces a landscaped boulevard median.
Wellness center would expand academic and athletic space
Another major component is a proposed wellness center building that would house STREAM classrooms — an educational model integrating science, technology, religion, engineering, arts, and mathematics — along with meeting rooms, offices, and indoor basketball courts.
School officials say the facility would allow students to participate in physical activities during inclement weather and reduce exposure to extreme heat and sun during outdoor exercise.
The master plan also calls for a reconfiguration of the student drop-off area, a change intended to improve circulation and safety during peak arrival and dismissal periods.
Plans further include redesigning the church entry area to create a plaza and pedestrian space connecting the parking area to the church. A covered walkway would extend past the campus columbarium to the church entrance, creating a more defined arrival sequence for parishioners and visitors.
Landscape improvements form another component of the proposal. The school proposes additional landscaping along the northern swale bordering Banyan Drive, building on plantings installed during a campus reconfiguration approved in 2009.
Sewer connection required before construction
Before construction could proceed, the campus must transition from its existing septic system to a municipal sewer connection. Project documents state that the current septic system is located beneath portions of the parking lot and playground and that the church has begun the process of securing sewer service to the property.
How to follow Friday’s meeting
Friday’s Development Review Committee meeting is open to the public. The committee provides technical feedback on development proposals for consistency with city policies and standards but does not approve projects. No public comment is taken at the meeting itself. Additional review by city boards would be required before any construction could begin.
The meeting is also on the University of Miami’s agenda: the committee will review a proposal for a new pergola and trellis at the terminus of Stanford Drive at 1306 Stanford Drive.
Residents who wish to submit written comment on the St. Thomas proposal may do so at coralgables.granicusideas.com/meetings or by email to drc@coralgables.com. Written comments must be received by close of business Thursday, March 19.
This Post Has 2 Comments
This has no opportunity of passing. Red Road and Kendall Drive is already severely gridlocked and has worsened quality of life more than ever. Who came up with an idea to propose a “two-story workout facility” with membership and garage — in addition to the church and school of nearly 500 students on a TINY 6 ACRES?
By comparison:
Nearby Palmer Trinity serves 750 students on over 60 ACRES. That’s 60 — not 6.
Across the street, on Red Road, Epiphany church and school serves 700 students on 30 ACRES (which is not enough land) and as a result creates far too much gridlock and traffic.
No elected representative, in good conscience, could approve such a proposal to increase density and gridlock in the surrounding communities of Coral Gables and Pinecrest.
“Parking garages” inevitably, always cause delays and increase backups onto roads — no matter how reorganized vehicle circulation on campus is.
We are talking 6 ACRES. Even if they went back to the drawing board and drew up “an entire loop” for traffic around the entire puny 6 acres — it would never suffice and prohibit all backups onto the surrounding section-line roads.
Some people always think “more” is better. In this case, it’s selfish and shows disregard for residents, taxpayers and families who have to commute daily through these main section-line roads of SW 57th Avenue and SW 87th Street.
These private schools and churches seem to believe that by hiring a world famous architect they get to bypass the rules of what fits a neighborhood. No reasonable person can argue that a two story concrete parking garage belongs here. It’s patently absurd. They have a beautiful campus – keep it that way and be better neighbors.