The battle is on for the right to redevelop a 2-acre stretch of city-owned land in Coral Gables, with two teams led by the Related Group and Terranova Corp. in the running.
Coral Gables officials sent out a request for proposals mid-year 2015 to redevelop two of the city’s parking garages at 245 and 345 Andalusia Avenue, according to the South Florida Business Journal. Two bids are now up for selection.
For the first, Related has again teamed up with the Allen Morris Company, proposing a $250 million mixed-use project called the Coral Gables City Center designed by Zyscovich Architects.
Theirs is the larger of the two proposals, with a total buildout of 569,094 square feet, according to the Business Journal. Related and Allen Morris want to redevelop the main garage at 345 Andalusia Avenue into a 16-story tower with 140,000 square feet of offices, 11,871 square feet of retail on the ground floor, an outdoor cafe on the 12th floor and 770 parking spaces. Plus, the companies would build out a public park on the site.
The second garage would be transformed into a 17-story tower, this time with its primary use being residential. The building would have 270 units — Related and Morris haven’t decided on apartments or condos yet — along with 799 parking spots, 16,878 square feet of ground-floor retail space and a rooftop pool deck, the Business Journal reported.
In return for development rights, the city would receive the public park, 20,000 square feet of the project’s office space, plus shared revenue from the parking garages. The partners would also give Coral Gables $5 million if the city allows them to develop both garages at once, instead of in two phases, the Business Journal reported.
The second team competing includes Terranova Corp. and ZOM, whose $184.8 million proposal is dubbed the Shops and Residences at Miracle Mile. Arquitectonica and Khoury-Vogt Associates are the architects.
Terranova and Zom have proposed to expand the main garage at 345 Andalusia Avenue to 952 spaces with a 21,260-square-foot office component, while also building a pair of 16-story towers on the second garage and a piece of land Terranova already owns at 220 Miracle Mile, according to the South Florida Business Journal.
The tower on Terranova’s land would have 187 apartments and 17,695 square feet of retail space, while the second tower would house 148 apartments and 33,790 square feet of retail, plus 923 parking spaces. Tentative rents would range between $1,900 and $4,500 per month, with units sized from 500 square feet to 1,250 square feet.
ZOM would own and operate the apartments, while Terranova would do the same for the retail. The developers would also request financial aid from the city to help fund construction costs, according to the Business Journal. In exchange, Coral Gables would receive 18.3 percent of the development’s revenue, plus annual rent of $205,000 for 99 years.
A city committee will hold a public hearing Thursday. The committee will then submit their recommendation to the city commission. [South Florida Business Journal] —Sean Stewart-Muniz