If you feed them, they will come … on Miracle Mile, parking continues to be an issue for retailers, while the Village of Merrick Park finally gets its footing with new restaurants

South Florida CEO, Nov, 2004 by Jaclyn Alcantara

Starbucks, Baha Fresh, Radio Shack. The retail chains in Coral Gables continue to multiply, leading to a heretofore unseen diversification along the main shopping district of Miracle Mile, which had previously been better known for its many bridal boutiques.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

The changes began several years ago when Starwood Urban LLC, a Washington-based investment company, bought a number of storefronts on the Mile and brought in national chain restaurants and retailers.

"It upgraded the whole mix on the Mile," says Charles Treister, president of Treister Design & Development Inc.

Starwood was the largest landowner on Miracle Mile when factoring in its mixed-use projects X Aragon and 55 Miracle Mile. The company put its entire retail portfolio on the block this year, and the impact of that sale on Coral Gables is still unclear. On Oct. 26, units of Miami-based Terranova Corp. and Washington-based Madison Marquette Realty Services L.P., in partnership with SSR Realty Advisors Inc., closed a deal to purchase 10 of Starwood's South Florida properties for $54.05 million. Eight of the buildings are on Miracle Mile and have a total of 79,751 square feet of retail space, which is completely leased.

While national investors such as Star-wood may have shown a preference for national retail and restaurant chains, it is the bridal stores that first built the city's retail reputation, and city officials are not ready for a complete change. The challenge, says Cathy Swanson, Coral Gables' economic development director, is "how can we not ignore [bridal retail], but build off of it." Home furnishings stores may have provided one answer.

Mari Molina, executive director of Miracle Mile merchants and property owners group, the Coral Gables Business Improvement District (BID), points out that "brides obviously get married. And guess what? They need furniture and also baby furniture." The number of furniture stores along the Mile "has grown exponentially." Molina says, though she did not provide figures to support the claim.

Clearly, retail is expanding in Coral Gables, thanks in part to the growth of the condominium market in the city. Molina says a mix of new retailers are preparing to open shop on Miracle Mile this month, and Kerry Newman, a senior associate at real estate brokerage. The Felenstein Koniver Stern Group, says occupancy rates for the district are 90 percent, with rents at $25 to $30 a square foot.

Beyond bridal gowns and home furnishings, other retailers are discovering that the city's cultural offerings boost their sales. Coconut Grove-based OutOfTheBlue Advertising was hired by the BID to promote the Mile and create advertisements meant to appeal beyond just shoppers. For example, one ad plays off the notoriety of New York's Museum of Modern Art and shows wine-toting gallery goers with the headline reading. "It's not MoMA, its Miracle Mile." Renny Tirador, OutOfTheBlue's president and executive creative director, says the ads aim "to bring people [in] who are looking for culture." BID members are spending more than $300,000 on the new campaign.

Among the cultural offerings that dovetail with the district's retail efforts is the landmark Miracle Theatre. The city purchased the 50-year-old movie house and leased it to Actor's Playhouse in 1995 rent-free for 40 years on the condition that the company operate, maintain, and raise all funds for the building. Its three stages host 175,000 guests a year. Barbara Stein, Actor's Playhouse CEO, claims neighboring restaurants experience a 20 percent jump in business during a production at the theater.

Art, too, is drawing people in. The first Friday of every month is Gables Gallery Night, sponsored by Coral Gables Gallery Association. Now in its 13th year, the event grants free access to more than half a dozen galleries from 7:00 to 10:00 at night, with trolley transportation provided to and from member galleries. On average, more than 2,000 people attend. Those numbers, however, may be threatened by one of the city's most persistent issues: parking, says George Volsky, chairman and founder of Coral Gable's Cultural Affairs Council. He worries fewer people will attend gallery night because the city "unwisely decided to extend paid parking time," he says. Gallery owners have complained to him that patrons are receiving parking tickets and that some have decided to forego returning. Restaurants, too, have suffered from the extended meter-parking hours, which kicked in two years ago.

Gables City Manager David Brown responds that extended meter parking was necessary to prevent area employees from parking in spots meant to support customers.

Lack of parking or not, literary fans have been packing into Coral Gables' Books & Books for more than 20 years, and the city's largest independent bookstore continues to have an impact on other area business through its frequent book readings and signings.

"Every day, Books & Books has an event in which authors speak about their books, sign their books and give discussions on all kinds of issues," Volsky says. "It's a social gathering. They have become one of the prime promoting areas [for publishers] in the country."