Questions for the mayor - Coral Gables Area Report

South Florida CEO, August, 2002

* Attorney Donald Slesnick was elected mayor of Coral Gables in 2000, partly because of his strong stance on preserving the historic character of the city. With a background in zoning, Slesnick continues to push for development, but only if it doesn't adversely impact the lifestyle of the city's residents.

What is the biggest challenge Coral Gables faces today?

We have a strong growth pattern in our downtown area, which creates a volume of construction and traffic. We have growing concern about the amount of traffic in the residential neighborhoods, the speed of the traffic, and also the intrusion of large buildings into the skyline. We have to balance all of those things, because we can't just forsake one for the other. We have to find a happy medium. It's the downtown area which is the dynamic changing scenery and so therefore we need to address that as it impacts us.

How important is the presence of multinationals here?

I think we need to attract and keep multinationals. We need to cater to the people we want to stay in our city. We have lots of office space and lots of commercial property, so we need people to fill that commercial property. What better companies to have in this area than multinationals? If all domestic groups wanted to fill our property, and every law firm in town wanted to move to Coral Gables, then that would take care of our property and that would be fine. But if you see South Florida as being the Brussels of the Americas, we need to make sure Coral Gables is a player.

What is Coral Gables' greatest asset?

I think people are its greatest asset, because people give it its character and make it the kind of neighborhood that it is. The people are the face that it shows to the world. It's the people who have created this wonderful ambience of pleasant living in the middle of a major metropolitan area. We are vital, we have a blood pressure and a tempo here which matches the rest of South Florida but yet ... we live in some kind of tranquility, which gives us a certain kind of strength.

How important to the city is the Village of Merrick Park?

It's very important.... Number one, it's important because of the projected income that the city will make from the lease and the tax base. The whole project sits on city property and it's being leased from the city. It's going to project the image of Coral Gables to the outside. It's just one piece of a greater puzzle, though. We need to continue to make our central business district and Miracle Mile vibrant too. But beyond that, we also need to provide shopping for our citizens. We have a lot of citizens who like to shop in good stores.

How crucial is the revitalization of Miracle Mile?

Absolutely crucial. Rouse is a great new thing ... but we need to keep our central business district up, that's our heart. We need to continue to bring life and vibrancy to the Mile. The restaurants ... Ortanique on the Mile, John Martin's, Houstons, and so on ... these bring life and vibrancy to the Mile. Urban Investments is building a whole new east end on the Mile, and they are the largest property owner [there]. They have every motivation in the world to make sure that this street is viable and lively.

There Is a lot of office product coming online. Any concerns?

I think that's truly a market-driven phenomenon. We'll see how it goes. We don't seem to be having a big problem, although I know some projects are ahead of others. Allen Morris is doing the best of all of them. But there's going to be lots more. Rouse will open an office component. The Hines company will too, so all these things make it a challenging commercial leasing market. Right now we have no indications of great problems. It's sort of like, we're on the sidelines watching and cheering.

Where do you want to see the city In five years?

I want to see the city in good financial condition. I want to see us positioned as one of the great international marketplaces for the 21st century, and positioned for culture. We have a great theater district here, people acknowledge it, but we could wake up one morning and not have it. We need to make sure that we remain a cultural center of Dade county.