Talk of the Town

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A Newly Dedicated Park

THE CITY HONORS RESIDENT DAVID LAWRENCE

Coral Gables has a new patch of green and a meaningful name behind it. The open space at 757 Blue Road, formerly known as Blue Road Open Space, officially became David Lawrence Jr. and Family Park in March. Tucked beside the Coral Gables Waterway (see story page 36), the site was designed as a small, neighborhood space meant largely for nearby residents and, eventually, for boaters who will be able to access it from the water. The name is a fitting honor. Lawrence is best known for two chapters of public life: first as publisher of The Miami Herald during a period when the paper won five Pulitzer Prizes, and then for his decades-long advocacy for children through work that included helping establish The Children’s Trust and later The Children’s Movement of Florida. The finished park now includes a playground, with a small, planned dock still pending permits. The playground also carries a deeper layer of meaning. The play area was dedicated to Lawrence’s twin granddaughters, Hanna and Rebecca, who died last year in the catastrophic Texas flood at Camp Mystic. – Yousra Benkirane

A Boon for the Art Cinema

A LARGE DONATION PUTS A SECOND SCREEN ON TRACK

Brenda Moe, the executive director of the Art Cinema, calls it a “transformational gift” – enough to ensure construction of a second screen at the movie house. The donation was so significant, she says, that the new theater (with 90 seats, compared to 141 in the main theater) will be called The Jessie Fox Wolfson Film Center at the Coral Gables Art Cinema in honor of the woman who made the donation (earlier in the year her family foundation also made a major donation to GableStage). Why a second screen is so important has to do with the requirements of film distributors. For new titles, cinemas have to guarantee a certain length of exclusive show time. That wasn’t working for the Art Cinema, which prides itself on providing an eclectic selection of foreign, independent, and classic movies. “I try to have four to five titles on our screen every weekend,” says Moe. “In order to screen [new releases] I would have to have it on screen with no other titles.” With the Wolfson gift in hand, and the permitting in place, the city can now put out bids for construction. And not a moment too soon; the cost to build the new theater has skyrocketed since the Cinema’s first fund-raising drive for screen #2 finished three years ago. – J.P. Faber

Raising The Flag

AUTISM RECOGNITION REIGNS

Launched four years ago by Maria Palacio, president of the Crystal Academy, the Autism Acceptance Flag Raising ceremony returned last month. Coral Gables residents gathered with city officials and first responders at the Public Safety Building on Salzedo Street for an event, which commemorates Autism Acceptance Month. Among  those in attendance were Mayor Vince Lago, Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson, Commissioner Dariel Fernandez, City Manager Peter Iglesias, and Jorge L. Arrizueta, CEO of the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce, along with representatives from District Six and the FIFA host committee. A student from Crystal Academy, the nonprofit school and therapy center serving children on the autism spectrum, raised the flag. What began in Coral Gables has expanded to more than 34 municipalities across Miami-Dade County, with Commissioner Raquel A. Regalado helping lead that effort. The flags were designed by Crystal Academy students in collaboration with attorney and advocate Haley Moss and printed locally by Bliss Imprints. The city’s efforts extend beyond the annual ceremony through programs such as Project Victory, where students with cognitive disabilities are placed in internships at local businesses, including within city government. Coral Gables also maintains an Accessible Recreation program and a Disability Affairs Board focused on inclusion initiatives. Following the ceremony, an Autism Acceptance Caravan traveled through the city before arriving at Crystal Academy. –Amanda Martell

Giralda Sky

TWO NEW PROJECTS ARE HEADED OUR WAY

When Umbrella Sky rose above the Giralda Plaza pedestrian walk-way in 2018, it had an immediate impact. Featuring 720 colorful umbrellas suspended above the plaza using a cable truss system, it jump started pedestrian traffic – which climbed from an average of 6,000 people a day to nearly 20,000 a day at its peak. “Umbrella Sky, back in 2018, had a media reach of 297,773,422 impressions,” says Solanch Lopez, Business Community Manager for the City of Coral Gables Economic Development Department.

Now comes two projects that city planners hope will have a similar impact. The first one, Cielo Tejido (“A Woven Sky”), starts this month and runs through July. Developed in partnership with the Consulate of Mexico, it features handwoven textile panels created by artisan women from Etzatlán, a municipality in the state of Jalisco, Mexico, where this weaving tradition originates. Presented in the United States for the first time, the woven elements will also extend beyond the plaza, wrapping the palm trees along Miracle Mile. From August through October, Giralda in Bloom, A Floral Canopy takes over the plaza. Created by Impact Plan, the Portuguese team behind the original Umbrella Sky, this installation moves away from solid color umbrellas to transparent and opaque umbrellas layered with floral petal designs, creating the impression of flowers suspended overhead. Merchants along Giralda have been requesting the return of an overhead installation, anticipating the surge in foot traffic the series is expected to bring to the plaza and the broader downtown Gables area. —Amanda Martell

Holding Court in the Gables

PRIVÉ PADEL TAKES OVER AT THESIS

Coral Gables puts wellness at its core, whether that means a run around the Granada Golf Course or a yoga class on Giralda. A new padel court now enters that mix, set in the open-air paseo of THesis Hotel. Padel is played on a compact, glass-walled court, combining the fast-paced rallies of squash with the scoring system and net play of tennis. The walls keep the ball in play, extending rallies and speeding them up. Padel has taken hold in Europe and Latin America for years and is now gaining traction in South Florida.

Privé Padel was co-founded by Christopher Moore, a wellness entrepreneur and longtime Hamptons resident, and Nicholas Solarewicz, a former professional tennis player. The company launched in Montauk, Long Island, and built a membership base of more than 600 players across New York and the Hamptons before bringing the concept to Miami. Located across U.S. 1 from the University of Miami, THesis draws a mix of students, residents, and visitors. The padel court opened April 6 as a one-year pop-up and is open to both hotel guests and the public from 8 am to 9 pm. A 90-minute session costs $96, or $128 for two hours. – Amanda Martell

Effortless Entertaining

SETTING THE TONE AT PONCE PARK

With a blended price of $1,675 per square foot, the Ponce Park project across from the Plaza Coral Gables is now the most expensive new condominium rising in the Gables. No wonder, then, that its sales gallery was the setting for a recent evening of Effortless & Elegant Entertaining with Colin Cowie. If you must ask, Cowie is a Rhodesia-born American lifestyle advisor, author, interior designer and party planner. A leading voice in modern entertaining, Cowie shared his approach to hosting with ease and intention.

The evening also featured a tasting by Andrea Cardenas of Moët Hennessy, with Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame and Golden Goat Caviar. The setting offered a preview of Ponce Park, the boutique residence by The Allen Morris Company, with architecture by John Cunningham of Zyscovich and interiors by Meyer Davis. The 11-story building will bring 58 residences to Coral Gables. We don’t want to tell you what a speaking fee for Cowie costs. – Gail Scott

Short Takes

The stock market may be off thanks to global instability, but here at home shares of Gables-based Amerant Bancorp hit a 52-week high in April, reaching $24.38 before easing off to $23.90 as of press time. Investors were pleased with earnings that exceeded expectations. Terrabank meanwhile has moved its corporate headquarters to Coral Gables, to a new 40,000 square foot office located at One Alhambra Plaza. More than 100 employees now work here.

In real estate news, Alain Monie, chairman of Ingram Micro, and his wife Dominique Leydis Monie, have sold their 6,963-square-foot Coral Gables waterfront home off Old Cutler Road for $17.95 million, or $2,578 per square foot, more than doubling its 2018 price. Not far from there, Lauren Sturges, widow of businessman Charles M. Fernandez, sold her waterfront Tahiti Beach mansion for $32 million, marking a price record for the gated neighborhood. Despite the record sale, it was still $8M short of the original asking price for the 10,400 sf mansion.

In medical news, Doctor’s Hospital, part of Baptist Health South Florida, was recently recognized to be among the top 5% nationwide in the Healthgrades list for patient safety. Healthgrades rates hospital safety based on “patient safety indicators” such as preventing infections and medical errors. Doctor’s is located adjacent to the UM campus.