If passed, a new agreement between UM and the city of Coral Gables would allow a hospital to be built on campus, significantly increase the number of undergraduates and provide more square footage for construction.
The University of Miami filed a 217-page package with the city of Coral Gables on June 11, requesting amendments to four separate documents: the Development Agreement, the campus master plan, the comprehensive plan and the zoning code.
This proposed Development Agreement is a 30-year agreement between the two parties, with both leveraging key negotiating assets.
“The development agreement is designed to look into the future,” the University told The Hurricane in a statement. “It establishes the parameters that will govern future growth and development of the University of Miami’s Coral Gables Campus over the course of the next 30 years.”
What would UM gain?
The proposed deal would adjust the land-use rules so that UM would have permission to build a hospital on campus. Page 11 of the filing suggests that a hospital could be built along the “Ponce de Leon corridor with easy access to public transit.”
No plans for a hospital have been filed with the city yet, and it is unclear if UM would build a full-service hospital or a specialty center.
“The University does not — at present — possess a specific plan to build a hospital on the Coral Gables Campus,” the University said. “As home to the only university-based academic health system in South Florida, the University is planning for the future needs of its community — both on campus and beyond campus — as it continues to deliver on its mission to transform lives through education, research, innovation, and service, while providing high-quality, compassionate patient care and positively impacting the community.”
UM is proposing that the area across from the University Metrorail Station along Ponce de Leon Blvd. — essentially the location of the yellow lot — be rezoned to a University Use Multi-Use Area, suggesting that this may be where UM envisions a future hospital.
Additionally, the new deal would allow for UM to enroll 17,500 undergraduate students, compared to the 13,000 permitted under the old terms.
This is approximately a 35% increase in the undergraduate population.
If the population were to exceed 17,500, UM would need to address traffic, housing and other concerns with the city as per the agreement.
Along with the increased population cap, UM’s campus boundaries would expand.
UM requested that three properties — 1530 Levante Avenue, 5827 Ponce de Leon Blvd. and 5855 Ponce de Leon Blvd. — located near Titanic Brewery and Restaurant be rezoned from the “Commercial Low-Rise Intensity category to the University Campus category.”
Within the land that the University already owns, the proposed deal would change the “fixed development cap” of 6.8 million acres to a Floor Area Ratio (FAR) structure. Areas with higher FAR values can be more densely built, making the land more efficient.
The proposal allows for an FAR of 1.0.
For example, if UM owned a 10,000-square-foot lot, the University would be allowed to build 10,000 square feet of total floor space. The floor space could be one 10,000-square-foot story, two 5,000-square-foot stories, and so on. The total just cannot exceed 10,000 square feet.
Stairwells, trash chutes, electrical rooms and other similar spaces have been excluded from the FAR.
What would the University give?
In return, UM will transfer the 5.52 acres of land known as the Lee Lincoln Site — worth an estimated $50 million — to the city. The site sits between Granada Blvd. and Ponce de Leon, behind the Mahoney-Person parking garage and East of campus.
The park will be renamed “Centennial Park” in honor of the city and UM’s 100th year and will be restricted to “ancillary recreational purposes,” making it the largest green space owned by Coral Gables.
The Hurricane reached out to Mayor Lago for comment and has not yet received a response.
UM will also pay the city $1 million annually, with a 4% annual increase, and will continue its partnership with athletics. Specifically, the University will continue to offer “Coral Gables Day,” where football tickets are “Buy One, Get Two Free” for one agreed-upon home game, and continue giving out 1,000 free tickets for men’s and women’s basketball and baseball.
Many of UM’s existing partnerships with the city would continue as well. The Gables Fellow Program, an internship program for students committed to public service; UM’s lecture series; the UM Concert Series; and more will remain in place.
What else is UM planning?
Also in the filings, the University listed the buildings it plans to demolish. Notably, the list includes Mahoney and Pearson Residential Colleges, the Toppel Career Center, the Whitten Learning Center and Meyer Law Administration (A).
The proposed deal also highlights “Future Building,” including a Football Operations Building, a School of Architecture Addition, a theatre and a building titled “STEM B.”
What is the status of this deal?
The proposal was submitted to Coral Gables’ Development Review Committee on June 26 and now requires approval from the Planning & Zoning Board. If approved, the city commissioners will make a final vote.
Because the pieces of this proposed deal are connected, if one piece fails, the others may not be implemented as intended.
The Hurricane is in contact with UM and working to schedule an interview with the administration.