Coral Gables resident warns unchecked development could change neighborhood character

Andres Jimenez, a Coral Gables resident since 1978, told the City of Coral Gables during public comment that he fears ongoing development will erode the neighborhood character he remembers from decades living at 1217 Granada.

Jimenez said he and his wife, Lucila, moved into the house on 1217 Granada after it had been on the market for about three years and that they lived there for 38 years, leaving in February 2015. "We have lived in Coral Gables since 1978," he said. He described the house as once being "somewhat abandoned, dilapidated" with peeling paint, but said the family kept it for decades and raised their children there, who he said attended Belen Jesuit Preparatory School.

The comment emphasized personal and historical ties as the basis for his concern about development. Jimenez said neighbors often stopped to talk about the home’s past and that documents he reviewed suggested a 1940s owner whose name he described as "suspicious." He also recalled frequent police visits during neighborhood parties: "We had so many parties, we have so many visits by the police during those parties that you could not count." He said those memories inform his worry that "all the politicians and all the, mayors and all the commissioners are saying that they're going to control development in Coral Gables and so far it has not happened."

Jimenez framed his concern in intergenerational terms, saying he hopes future generations will not see Coral Gables "turned into a horrible thing as Miami Beach and other areas." He closed his remarks by wishing the city well: "Good luck Coral Gables for the next 100 years and may God bless this city as well as our country."