{"id":2515,"date":"2026-07-01T16:02:06","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T16:02:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=2515"},"modified":"2026-07-01T16:02:06","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T16:02:06","slug":"coral-gables-to-get-a-new-park-as-um-seeks-to-expand-under-new-deal-what-we-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=2515","title":{"rendered":"Coral Gables to get a new park as UM seeks to expand under new deal. What we know"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The University of Miami and the city of Coral Gables are one step closer to finalizing a deal that would give the private university the ability to plan for more students, new housing and other buildings on its growing campus \u2014 including, potentially, a new hospital.<\/p>\n

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In return, UM would give the city nearly six acres of grassy land across from Henry S. West Laboratory School, 5300 Carillo St., to transform into a new park. The park, bounded by Ponce de Leon Boulevard, Carillo Street and Granada Boulevard, would become the largest city-owned green space. The deal also secures the continuation of several programs and services, including a limited amount of free tickets to certain UM sports games for city residents.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThis is a property that I\u2019ve chased for years with the University of Miami,\u201d Coral Gables Mayor Vince Lago told the Miami Herald, explaining that he\u2019s spent the past decade trying to find a way to bring the land \u2014 estimated to be worth about $50 million \u2014 into the city\u2019s hands for preservation.<\/p>\n

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\u201cA portion of it, I would like to bring it back into its original state,\u201d with trees and plants \u201creminiscent of old Florida,\u201d Lago said, recalling how he got his \u201cfirst real taste of wilderness\u201d in a nearby pine rockland area as a child with his grandfather.<\/p>\n

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The proposed deal still needs to get the OK from the city\u2019s Planning & Zoning Board before making its way to city commissioners.<\/p>\n

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UM-Coral Gables deal: How it would affect campus growth<\/h2>\n

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UM needs the deal to create a blueprint for its future growth over the next 30 years. The current deal the university has with the city allows it to have up to about 13,000 students. Under the new deal, the university can have up to 17,500 full-time undergraduate students on the Gables campus before it needs to seek approval by the city for traffic mitigation and student housing plans.<\/p>\n

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The deal, which gives the university more \u201cdevelopment square footage\u201d to build on, would also rezone several university-owned properties that are on the same strip as the popular Titanic Brewery and Restaurant. UM wants the properties \u2014 1530 Levante Ave., 5827 Ponce de Leon Blvd. and 5855 Ponce de Leon Blvd., to be rezoned from commercial low-rise intensity to university campus purposes.<\/p>\n

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The rezoning is part of UM\u2019s plan to expand the boundaries of the \u201cUniversity Campus Multi-Use Area\u201d directly across the street from the Metrorail University Station and along the major thoroughfare of Ponce De Leon Boulevard. The university would still need to abide by permitting and regulatory requirements for developments.<\/p>\n

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The changes would make it possible for UM to open, if it wants to, a new medical facility in the area, according to the proposal. The U already has the Lennar Foundation Medical Center on its Gables campus.<\/p>\n

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But, for the moment, there are no hospital plans in the works, UM told the Miami Herald. At least for now.<\/p>\n

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The university\u2019s proposal says that the rezoning and boundary changes will lead to more jobs in the future, \u201cwill not impact the residential neighborhoods that border the campus along San Amaro and Campo Sano\u201d and is \u201clikewise compatible with the surrounding development patterns.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe wish to emphasize that the expansion will have no negative impact on the availability of housing affordable to people who live and work within the City,\u201d reads the 217-page proposal.<\/p>\n

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It also notes that the addition of a hospital use to the university\u2019s \u201cMulti-Use Area\u201d will \u201cfurther the mission of the University to provide world-class, convenient health care to residents\u201d and that the area is \u201cideally situated for a Hospital use located along the Ponce de Leon corridor with easy access to public transit.\u201d<\/p>\n

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What will the Gables get as part of new UM deal?<\/h2>\n

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For the city, the deal gets it a new \u201cpassive\u201d 5.5-acre park, which the mayor and city manager said will give people a place to walk, run and get fresh air.<\/p>\n

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The future park will be named Centennial Park to commemorate the 100th anniversaries of the City Beautiful and UM. The university will still have the ability to use the park for recreational activities and, like the city, will also be able to use it as a debris site for post-hurricane recovery efforts.<\/p>\n

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Both the city and UM would need to agree before any events can be held at the park, according to City Manager Peter Iglesias.<\/p>\n

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Iglesias, who has spearheaded efforts alongside Lago and UM Board of Trustees Chair Manny Kadre to get the park included in the new development agreement, described the proposal as one that provides \u201cmutual benefit\u201d for both the city and the expanding university, which will pay just over $1 million a year to the city as part of the new 30-year deal, with the payment increasing by 4% annually.<\/p>\n

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The deal, if ultimately approved by city commissioners, would replace a similar soon-to-expire development agreement the city and UM made a decade ago.<\/p>\n

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The new 30-year agreement also secures UM\u2019s commitment to offer up to 80 hours per year of free consulting services to the city for architecture and other areas. The university will also continue to offer various programs to city residents, including:<\/p>\n

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