Save the Date
Commission Meeting
May 8th
Jazz on Plaza Aragon
May 18th
Commission Meeting
May 22th
Development Review Committee
May 25th
Gallery Night
June 1st
Development Review Committee
July 29th
Coral Gables
Restaurant Week
June 
4th-24th
Celebration at the
Biltmore Hotel
July 4th
Gallery Night
July 6th
Merrick Manor

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Merrick Manor, a premier new development in Coral Gables, is currently under construction. The 10-story, 227-residence community and its 19,000 square feet of prime ground-floor retail space is located at 301 Altara Avenue. The Mediterranean villa-style residences offer a unique selection of floor plans for one to five-bedroom designer-ready condominiums ranging from 574 to more than 3,400 square feet. The project will come to market in   Q4 2018.
QUOTE, UNQUOTE

As a family-owned business, we had to consider expansion into a new city very carefully.   Coral Gables was the perfect place for our coffee shop Café Grumpy - an international city with a neighborhood feel.  

-Caroline Bell, CEO/Co-Founder Cafe Grumpy
MEET LETICIA

A warm welcome to Leticia Perez, the City's new International Business Coordinator. In her new role Leticia will work with Consular Corps and trade commission offices to recruit new multinational's. Leticia comes to the city after a 17 year career at Baptist Health South Florida where she helped promoted Baptist's services, hospitals and physicians to the international community.  
Leticia can be reached at  
lperez@coralgables.com
Economic Development Dept.
2121 Ponce de Leon Blvd., 
Ste. 720
Coral Gables, FL 33134
305.460.5311
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"BUSINESS UPDATE" 
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INTERIM DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE
2018 has brought about great change and excitement for the City of Coral Gables.  The completion of the highly anticipated Streetscape Project culminated in a wonderful celebration on April 14th. A ribbon cutting occurred in the Plaza at the corner of Miracle Mile & LeJeune Rd. The City also unveiled a plaque commemorating the partnership between the City, the Business Improvement District and the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce with special recognition to  Assistant City Manager Peter Iglesias who was a driving force behind getting this project from inception to completion. The lively celebration continued throughout Miracle Mile as local musicians played on alternating blocks with fun, family-friendly activities for all to enjoy. 

The spring also brought free public Wi-Fi to Miracle Mile and Giralda Plaza and pedestrian counters to Giralda Plaza, these changes herald that Coral Gables truly is a Smart City.
-Leonard Roberts, Interim- Director, Economic Development Department, 
EYES ON STREETSCAPE

With Streetscape now completed, a team of ambassadors are on the job making sure our streets stay sparkling clean seven days a week. The City has hired Block by Block to keep Miracle Mile and Giralda Plaza clean. The crew picks up debris, cleans the sidewalks and helps visitors with directions. Look for the bright green shirts and friendly smile!
BUSINESS TRENDS

OFFICE
RETAIL
Office vacancy increased slightly from 7.1 to 7.5% from Q4 2017 to Q1 2018 due to the inclusion of the soon to
 be delivered Ofizzina building.   Quoted rates slightly increased from $38.39 PSF to $39.69 PSF.   Of the approx. 420,000 SF under construction 30% of   that space is expected to be delivered to market by Q2 2018 (1515 Sunset Dr and Giralda Place).   Average vacancy and asking rates across the County for Q1 2018 were 8.5% and $35.13, respectively.

Retail vacancy increased from 2.5% to 2.7% from Q4 2017 to Q1 2018 while asking rates slightly decreased to $42.73 from $42.74.   The Coconut Grove retail vacancy rate was 4.8% with asking rates at $54.43 PSF and Brickell retail vacancy was 11.5% with asking rates at $77.56.   Average vacancy and asking rates for retail across the County for the same period was 3.7% and $39.16 PSF, respectively.
A NEW APPROACH TO RETAIL
In November of 2016, the City of Coral Gables in partnership with the Business Improvement District and the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce, engaged a retail consultant, Downtown Works, to provide a retail strategy for the City. A little over one year later, the strategy is in full implementation mode, bringing the ideal retail mix to Downtown Coral Gables. With a focus on chef-driven restaurant concepts, home & design stores, women's fashion & accessories and men's fashion & accessories, you can see a shift in retail tenancy. This year we've welcomed Blue Mercury, Doc. B's Kitchen, and Café Grumpy to our downtown. In addition, athleisure brand 828 Clothing & Baby has "popped up" at 263 Miracle Mile, they are joined by four new art galleries that also popped up just in time for the opening of Miracle Mile.

The city continues to see an increase of capital investments in the area, which is infusing the downtown with a vitality and energy intrinsic to the retail strategy. Stay tuned for more exciting announcements in the world of retail and restaurants!

Copyright © 2017 City of Coral Gables Economic Development Department. All Rights Reserved.