Coral Gables planning staff is recommending the city's Planning and Zoning Board approve the University of Miami's full six-part campus expansion package, clearing the way for up to 3.7 million additional square feet of development, 4,500 more students and a potential hospital on the Coral Gables campus.
The board will cast its first public vote on the proposal Wednesday, Aug. 12, at 6 p.m. at the Community Meeting Room at Police and Fire Headquarters, 2151 Salzedo St. It is not the final decision. Two City Commission votes are still required before any changes take effect.
What the deal would change
The biggest shift: raising the campus floor area ratio from 0.7 to 1.0. That would eliminate the current hard cap of 6.8 million square feet and allow approximately 10.5 million square feet of total development, according to the Gables Gazette, which first reported the staff recommendation.
Maximum student enrollment would jump from 13,000 to 17,500, a roughly 35% increase.
For the first time, hospital use would be permitted in the campus Multi-Use Zone. A facility with 100 beds or fewer would not require a separate conditional-use review. UM told The Miami Hurricane student newspaper in July that it does not currently have a specific plan to build a hospital on the Coral Gables campus.
The university's Multi-Use Area would expand by nearly 14 acres along Ponce de Leon Boulevard, stretching from the Central Energy Plant southwest to Red Road and northeast to the Mahoney-Pearson Parking Garage. Three university-owned parcels on Levante Avenue and Ponce de Leon Boulevard would be rezoned from Commercial Low-Rise to University Campus District.
Existing Campus Transition and Buffer areas along surrounding residential neighborhoods would remain unchanged.
What the city gets
In exchange for the expanded development rights, UM would convey the Lee Lincoln Parcel, a 5.52-acre site estimated at $50 million, to the city for a public park to be named Centennial Park. It would become the largest city-owned green space in Coral Gables, bounded by Ponce de Leon Boulevard, Carillo Street and Granada Boulevard. UM would retain a perpetual recreational easement over portions of the site.
"This is a property that I've chased for years with the University of Miami," Mayor Vince Lago told the Miami Herald on June 30, describing his decade-long push to secure the land.
UM's annual payments to the city would start at just over $1 million and increase 4% each year over the 30-year term. The university would also take over management of 70 metered parking spaces on campus streets.
The agreement becomes effective only if all approvals are secured and all appeal periods exhausted. If any piece fails, both sides revert to the 2010 agreement.
What comes next
Wednesday's P&Z vote is a recommendation. Dates for the two required City Commission hearings have not been set.
A seventh item on the agenda, proposed by the city rather than UM, would increase the maximum initial term of development agreements citywide from 20 years to 30 years, bringing Coral Gables code in line with Florida law. That change is what enables the proposed 30-year term.
The city mailed 2,327 notices to property owners ahead of the hearing. Residents can attend in person, join via Zoom (meeting ID 837 8870 9513), or call 305-461-6769. Written comments go to [email protected] or coralgables.com/pzb by close of business Tuesday, Aug. 11.
As we reported July 23, the proposed deal also includes hospital provisions and parking changes. Wednesday's hearing is the first time the full package faces a public vote.
