A 400-page city-commissioned survey has identified 556 historic resources in Coral Gables' North Ponce and Flagler neighborhoods, including St. James Lutheran Church at the site of the controversial Crystal Residences project, which heads to the City Commission for a final vote Tuesday, Aug. 25.

The survey, prepared by Miami firm Plusurbia Design, names the church at 110 Phoenetia Ave. as one of just seven "Focal Sites" in North Ponce. But the study is not expected to change the outcome for Crystal Residences, a nine-story, 184-unit mixed-use development that cleared first reading in a 3-2 vote in July. The project has drawn fierce opposition over its scale and the proposed redevelopment of the Garden of Our Lord, a 1951 meditation garden on the site.

Historic Preservation Board member Kelly Schild pressed for the report at the board's Aug. 13 meeting, calling the neighborhood vulnerable.

"North Ponce is, I would say, a fragile, I would say, at risk area," Schild said. "So I would like to see that as soon as possible."

Historic Preservation Officer Anna Pernas told the board that Plusurbia began the study in December and submitted a final draft at the end of May. The consultant was unavailable during the summer, but Pernas said the report would be ready for a formal presentation to the board and ultimately the City Commission this fall.

The City Commission had voted unanimously to hire Plusurbia for the work, according to Coral Gables Magazine.

What the survey found

The draft describes North Ponce as the city's original apartment district, built around the Ponce de Leon streetcar line, with buildings spanning roughly a century. The Flagler Section was originally planned as a business district before becoming a predominantly single-family residential neighborhood in the 1940s.

Plusurbia documented each of the 556 resources with individual Florida Master Site File records, current and historic photographs and GIS maps. The survey's central goal is to identify portions of the two neighborhoods that could qualify for local or national historic district designation, as well as individual properties with historic significance.

The report builds on a 2000 study by Janus Research that recommended North Ponce be designated a Local Conservation District. That earlier work was never transmitted to the state and was unavailable to the current consultant team. The new survey extends North Ponce's period of significance from 1951 to 1976 and adds properties too new to have been included in the 2000 study.

According to the Coral Gables Gazette, the report says creating the inventory before individual properties face demolition permits or significance reviews could reduce research now done on a "case-by-case or fragmentary basis," while providing greater predictability for property owners and developers.

The report also notes that zoning changes over the years in North Ponce have encouraged larger multifamily buildings, resulting in the demolition of older, smaller structures.

The Crystal Residences connection

St. James Lutheran Church, whose congregation formed as a mission in 1945 and moved to the Phoenetia Avenue site in 1947, is singled out in the survey. The present sanctuary, designed by architect Robert M. Nordin in the Mediterranean Revival style, was built in 1958 and features a bell tower, arches and coral rock.

Being named a Focal Site does not itself confer historic designation. The report says eligibility decisions will be made case by case by city Historical Resources staff.

Crystal Residences, proposed by Chicago-based Fifield Companies on the 1.47-acre site, includes 184 residential units, 16 live-work units and a new facility for Crystal Academy. Century Homebuilders purchased the property for $9.8 million in November 2021, and Fifield is under contract to acquire it if zoning changes are approved.

The project advanced on first reading in July with Mayor Vince Lago, Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson and Commissioner Richard Lara voting in favor. Commissioners Melissa Castro and Ariel Fernandez voted against. The Planning and Zoning Board had recommended approval on June 17, with the most contentious vote, a Future Land Use Map amendment from Religious/Institutional to Commercial Mid-Rise Intensity, passing 4-3.

The survey's proposed process could give the city more information before future development applications reach the approval stage, but it will not undo decisions already made on Crystal Residences.

What's next

The full report is scheduled for presentation to the Historic Preservation Board and City Commission this fall. Board member Michael Maxwell asked that the record reflect the draft would be shared with board members before that formal presentation.

Second reading for Crystal Residences is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 25.