The city suburban: an increasing number of businesses are moving into the central core of Coral Gables, lured by the successful launch of a mass transit trolley system. But can George Merrick's leafy planned community maintain its suburban charm?

South Florida CEO, Nov, 2004 by Jaclyn Alcantara

Coral Gables is a city of contradictions--bustling, yet peaceful, urban, yet suburban, friendly, yet exclusive, changing, and yet focused on preserving its history. It is this contrast that draws people to this city, with the hope that they really can have the best of both worlds.

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Resident and business owner Christine M. Barney, CEO of rbb Public Relations, calls Coral Gables a "big city with a small-town feel." She jokes that by residing and working in the Gables, "I could live my whole life in a five-mile radius." Her joke may not be too much of a stretch: Her seven-year-old car has only clocked 20,000 miles.

Still, striving for perfection comes with a price. People blessed with the income to afford Coral Gables' ever-increasing housing costs must also be willing to follow the city's seemingly endless list of restrictions on residents. "You get cited if you have a mildewed roof, or if your grass is too long and you need approval for paint," says Dona M. Lubin, director of the city's historical resources department and herself a Coral Gables resident.

Real estate developers, too, must deal with many of the same restrictions. But Coral Gables does offer incentives to those who choose to tow the line. One prime example is the so-called Mediterranean ordinance, which restricts new buildings to 13 stories unless Mediterranean-style architecture is used, in which case the height limit stretches to 16 stories. The ordinance adds to building costs, say developers, but with land prices at an all-time high, the additional space makes the effort worthwhile.

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That was case with Alhambra Towers, which opened its doors two years ago. It is located on an unusual triangular piece of land in the city's central business district.

"To develop this unique building on this special property, we had to create a development agreement with the city of Coral Gables," says W. Allen Morris, chairman and CEO of The Allen Morris Co. "It was the first time the city has ever entered into a development agreement with a developer."

While the 16-story building was of Mediterranean design, Morris still had to obtain the city's permission to create the two towers that sit atop the building, making them the second tallest points in Coral Gables after the Biltmore Hotel's tower.

Another incentive offered by the city to developers is the transfer of development rights (TDR) ordinance, which was utilized by law firm Colson Hicks Eidson five years ago to restore the historic Weiland Clinic, built in 1927. The law firm, which owns the building, is leasing the former clinic to bookseller Books & Books. The TDR, however, allows Colson Hicks to sell its development rights and use that money for the historic restoration of the building. Law partner Dean Colson says restoring the building was more expensive than building a new one, but the TDR allowed the firm to offset the cost.

"But for the TDR ordinance we would not have been able to have the restoration done," says Colson, whose firm moved to Coral Gables from Miami in 2000 and now has its three-story headquarters next to the historic former clinic.

Historical resources director Lubin says the city further protects its heirloom real estate by requiring that all building demolition must be approved by her department, whether or not the building is currently listed as historic. "This department determines whether or not it is significant to the city, and we're able to block the demolition and designate it as historic," she explains.

Lubin believes the city's strict code enforcement has helped preserve much of Coral Gables' history throughout the years, particularly historic homes. Homeowners are given incentives to have their home officially designated as historic. "We have an ad valorem tax relief for historic properties ... for people that restore their properties. They are able to get a tax break for 10 years on the improvement. So 99 percent of the designations that we do here are property owners coming to us and saying, 'I think that my home or my property is historic,'" in the hopes that they can receive a tax break for making home improvements.

Her department is currently involved in is turning an historic downtown firehouse into the Coral Gables Museum. The coral rock building will have a room for a history exhibit as well as room for traveling exhibits.

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The challenge facing Coral Gables is to "modernize to the point that you don't take away from the historical significance," says Eli White, vice president of sales and marketing for The Seaway Group, which manages the historic Biltmore Hotel.

Even as Coral Gables tries to preserve its past, its growing professional services sector is changing the face of downtown with mixed-use buildings, offices, and residential condominiums. The companies that continue to roll into the city include multinationals, such as Kraft Latin America, law firms Becker & Poliakoff and Adorno & Yoss, among others, and banks such as BAC Florida Bank and Gibraltar Bank.