Developer Edgardo Defortuna’s Fortune International Group plans to redevelop an aging residential and commercial complex in Coral Gables into a luxury condo project.
Fortune is in contract to acquire Gables Waterway, a 4.8-acre property on South Alhambra Circle, Caballero Boulevard and U.S. 1, Defortuna confirmed. The low-rise development fronts the Coral Gables Waterway on both sides of the canal. It was built between 1952 and 1964.
Gables Waterway Property LLC paid $20 million for the assemblage in 2014, property records show. In its place, the Fortune plans a 251-unit condominium project with 1,500 square feet of retail space and a park, according to an application filed with the city. It could cost $150 million to develop.
The city’s Development Review Committee will evaluate the proposal at a meeting on Nov. 17. Fortune is seeking amendments to the zoning code map and a comprehensive plan map, as well as mixed-use site plan approval and a planned area development designation.
Rafael Portuondo’s Portuondo Perotti Architects and Arquitectonica are working on the project.
Defortuna expects the approval process could take six to nine months. He is in talks to brand the project. Presales could begin in about a year.
As designed, the project will be the tallest (13 stories) closest to U.S. 1 and scale down to nine stories farther south.
Defortuna expects the “high quality, low density” development will appeal to buyers relocating to Coral Gables in part for proximity to good schools. It will also have a waterfront park accessible to the public.
The U.S. 1 corridor from South Miami to Coral Gables to Coconut Grove has undergone significant redevelopment, with a number of recently completed mixed-use apartment towers, and some still in the development pipeline.
Tenants at the existing Gables Waterway property include the Instagram-popular Jholano’s Deli sandwich shop. The site is within walking distance of the University of Miami, and next to the University Inn condo complex where many students live. To the east is the Paseo de la Riviera apartment and hotel development, a $225 million mixed-use project Nolan Reynolds International completed in 2020.
Nolan Reynolds International also developed and sold the LifeTime-branded mixed-use apartment project at 237 South Dixie Highway that Hines acquired last year for $430 million. The development includes a Trader Joe’s and Graziano’s market.
In between the two Nolan Reynolds projects is the University Shopping Centre at 1250 South Dixie Highway. Landmark Properties plans The Mark, an eight-story, 396-unit residential complex with about 19,000 square feet of commercial space on the site. Landmark was in contract to acquire the property, according to an application submitted to the city of Coral Gables.
Nearby, Landmark’s Cloisters student housing complex has faced major construction delays and issues, according to students and their families. That property is just outside of Coral Gables at 5830 and 5840 Southwest 57th Avenue.
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