No seller yet for the church's Christmas tree lot
Plus late campaign spending, the Art Cinema's second screen and a designer's Orduna Drive home.
The website for the Christmas tree lot at Coral Gables Baptist Church still says it opens Nov. 21. After 34 years there, though, the company behind it has withdrawn its city permit request.
For 34 years, Christmas trees have been sold at Coral Gables Baptist Church, 5501 Granada Boulevard. This season, no seller is confirmed. At the commission's final session before the holidays, staff said the lot's sales were not funding charities the way the city had believed. The roughly $20,000 in giving listed on the application turned out to be trees handed out, counted at their value, rather than money. Most commissioners balked at granting the special permit, and after a deferral, owner Paul Boutin withdrew his request. He said the company had already put down more than $130,000 in supplier deposits for this season that it cannot get back. City officials plan to look for a replacement vendor or another setup with the church, though the late timing makes that uncertain. The company's website still lists an opening date of Nov. 21.
A Tuscan-style Orduna Drive home goes California
Designer Justin Joy's Covid-delayed renovation added space to his 7,300-square-foot Spanish-style house on Orduna Drive and stripped out its heavy Tuscan finishes. He looked to Montecito and Santa Barbara rather than classic South Florida Mediterranean. The foyer's original arches had vanished under white paint until a plaster finish brought them forward. Applying the living room's Marmorino plaster by hand took more than four months. The kitchen, built for a family with four kids, pairs reclaimed French limestone floors with white oak and unlacquered brass. Closer to home for shoppers, Kohler's new Claude bath collection is sold through Ferguson Home, 4119 Ponce de Leon Blvd. Visual Comfort & Co., at 4216 Ponce de Leon Blvd., is behind designer Richard June's debut lighting line of 35 designs.
Gables advisors put AI to work as wealth changes hands
Artificial intelligence is taking over much of the paperwork side of wealth management, and firms with Gables offices are putting it to work. At Coral Gables Trust, chief wealth advisor John Harris says AI makes a first pass through long trust and estate documents, pointing the firm's attorneys to provisions that need a closer read. The clients are changing too. Cerulli Associates projects a $105 trillion transfer to U.S. heirs between now and 2048. Michelle Grillone, who leads Mariner Wealth Advisors' Coral Gables and Palm Beach Gardens offices, says wealthy families want their children and grandchildren prepared to manage money responsibly. Adam Carlin of Morgan Stanley offers a caution: AI "can tell you the what but not necessarily make you understand the why."
Two firms took 99.3% of late Lago campaign and committee spending
Between Oct. 20 and Oct. 29, Mayor Vince Lago's campaign and Coral Gables First, a political committee linked to him, spent $182,664 combined. Two firms, Big Tuesday Media and BYG Strategies, collected 99.3 percent of it. In the two weeks before that, Lago's campaign and Coral Gables First had spent $8,761 combined. In the latest reporting period, the committee took in $74,500 from 22 contributions, nearly double the $38,602 in receipts the seven mayoral and commission candidates reported together. Several closing-week donors were developers or lobbying interests with matters before City Hall this year. Big Tuesday was also paid $43,320 in the same stretch by the campaign of Group IV challenger Nestor Menendez. The two Lago accounts are legally separate, and the filings show neither that Lago steers the committee nor that any gift swayed a city decision.
A Serra purchase moves ahead, with installation costs unknown
Commissioners voted 4-1 on Oct. 27 to let the city manager negotiate a $5 million purchase price for Fin, an 18-ton curved steel wall by the late Richard Serra. Staff called it the biggest art buy in city history. About $1 million of that $5 million price covers removing the piece from Manhattan and shipping it south; an independent appraisal valued the work at $5.775 million, not counting removal and shipping. The foundation and installation cost extra, and staff kept early estimates private while talks continue. City Manager Peter Iglesias said that work will be paid from the Art in Public Places fund, not the general fund. No yearly maintenance figure was given. The city's Cultural Development Board had urged against the buy. Staff want it in a new park planned for Salzedo Street and Almeria Avenue. The deal still needs an in-person inspection and clear title.
The Art Cinema's second screen gets final approval
The Coral Gables Art Cinema is getting the second screen it has wanted for more than ten years. On Oct. 27, commissioners voted 5-0 to finalize the lease and funding, $450,000 toward a project with a total cost of $1.425 million. The theater draws about 60,000 visitors a year and offers free programs for seniors and schoolchildren. Mayor Vince Lago called it "the most respected cinema in the State of Florida."