Location Ventures founder and CEO Rishi Kapoor with a rendering of the Location Ventures proposed project on the left and a rendering of Codina Partners’ Regency Tower project on the right (Hamed Rodriguez Architect, Nichols Brosch Wurst Wolfe & Associates and Codina Partners, Location Ventures)
Coral Gables is poised to get more development.
Codina Partners’ plan for an apartment tower, and Location Ventures’ proposal for a condominium are a step closer to fruition, after city commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved a slew of development regulation changes for each project.
Codina Partners, founded and led by Armando Codina, wants to build the 174-unit Regency Residences on 1.7 acres roughly between Valencia and Almeria avenues, just east of Salzedo Street, according to plans filed with the city. The Nichols Brosch Wurst Wolfe & Associates-designed project will include a 389-space garage, restaurant space and a 10,000-square-foot public park.
At 18 stories, Regency Residences would be taller than the 13-story maximum allowed on the property. Commissioners OKed the height increase.
Coral Gables-based Codina Partners purchased the site last year for $13.2 million from Mercedes-Benz of Coral Gables.
Codina, who in the past described the Regency units as “sky homes” targeting empty nesters, has said he plans to live in the penthouse, according to media reports.
Location Ventures’ plan is for 87 condos on a 1.6-acre site at 1505 Ponce De Leon Boulevard, as well as at 122 and 126 Menores Avenue. The Hamed Rodriguez Architect-designed project would have a 319-space garage; 10,500 square feet of retail; a 6,600-square-foot linear park facing Ponce De Leon; and a just over 6,000-square-foot public dog park on the east side of the building. Seven of the units will be live-work spaces.
Coral Gables-based Location Ventures, led by Rishi Kapoor, has the property under contract from Tibor Hollo’s Florida East Coast Realty for an undisclosed amount.
Commissioners gave final approval to a rezoning and a planned area development designation for Codina’s proposal, and also approved the site plan and the transfer of development rights for the project. They preliminarily approved a rezoning and planned area development designation for Location Ventures’ proposal.
Both developers have built in Coral Gables before. Codina completed the 15-story Mediterranean-style Bacardi headquarters with 230,000 square feet of offices and 20,000 square feet of retail, according to the company’s website. Its other projects there include the 16-story 2020 Salzedo apartment building.
Location Ventures completed the 13-story, 39-unit Villa Valencia condominium at 515 Valencia Avenue.
Coral Gables, which has the official moniker of “The City Beautiful,” has long been an enclave of homes with manicured lawns, as well as retail and dining spots along Miracle Mile. The city’s image has been changing in recent years amid increased development.
Developer Nolan Reynolds International, in partnership with Life Time, completed one of the biggest new projects, the 1.2 million-square-foot, 14-story Life Time Coral Gables project at 237 South Dixie Highway. Visible along U.S. 1, the project has 495 luxury apartments; an 80,000-square-foot athletic resort; a 25,000-square-foot co-working space, and ground-floor retail with a Trader Joe’s.
