The Coral Gables City Commission is moving forward with the University of Miami’s long-term development agreement, a sweeping proposal that would reshape the university’s campus footprint and support its future growth. The major 30-year expansion plan would increase student enrollment from 13,00 0 to 17,500, convey the 5.5-acre Lee Lincoln Parcel to the city as a public park, revise the payment schedule to include an annual 4% increase, transfer 70 city-managed metered parking spaces to the university and allow the construction of a hospital with up to 100 beds. The university also received approval for a series of zoning and development changes, including a 30% increase in allowable building area on campus, expanded campus boundaries along Ponce de Leon Boulevard and increased retail allowances within campus development zones. Those changes would provide greater density and flexibility for future academic, research and medical facilities. “Today is absolutely a historic day when you look at George Merrick’s original plan, and you think 100 years later, and you hold up what we have today versus what was envisioned then, and you take a moment to pause,” said Jeff Bass, founder of Bass Law, who represented the University of Miami during Tuesday’s City Commission meeting. “For Merrick, the university was the most important achievement of his legacy.” The development of a full-service hospital on the Coral Gables campus is among the most significant elements of the proposal. The project would mark a major expansion of the university’s health care footprint beyond the existing Lennar Foundation Medical Center, an outpatient facility. Plans call for a hospital offering inpatient, outpatient and emergency care, significantly expanding medical services on the university’s main academic campus. Another major phase is the Gables Village, a 573,804-square-foot residential complex set to replace Mahoney-Pearson Residential College. The project, slated for completion by mid-2029, is to include two multistory towers with 1,458 beds, most of them private single rooms, along with study lounges, classrooms, recreational and event spaces, landscaped pedestrian corridors and a 700-seat dining hall. “This property’s 700 acres were given by George Merrick to the University of Miami to ensure that Coral Gables was on solid footing with an educational institution at its base. This is the most important relationship the city of Coral Gables has,” Mayor Vince Lago said. “There is no more important relationship, and it’s fragile. We must always understand that. That’s why the development agreement clearly states that we meet every year to sit down and have a conversation. The University of Miami in Coral Gables is truly a treasure.” The university’s expansion is guided by its “Roadmap to Our New Century,” a strategic plan unveiled during its centennial celebration that outlines goals for advancing research, health care, student life and global engagement over the next decade. The campuswide transformation is being supported, in part, by Miami-Dade County commissioners’ approval in March of $500 million in revenue bonds for capital projects across five University of Miami locations, including the Coral Gables campus, the medical campus, the Rosenstiel School on Virginia Key and UHealth facilities in Doral and North Miami. “This is indeed a historic day. The amount of benefit that we gain as a city from the University of Miami is tremendous. The amount of green space that this university is providing our city is a very significant addition that will add value to our community for generations to come,” Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson said. The vice mayor also acknowledged the university’s willingness to remain engaged throughout lengthy and difficult negotiations. “I’m aware of the number of months and efforts that were made, and moments where there was an agreement to disagree, but you came back to the table and ironed out the details,” she said. “I think we have the perfect resolution for the future of our city.” The post University of Miami agreement with Gables will reshape campus, add hospital appeared first on Miami Today. ...read more read less