Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Historic Preservation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board approves addition at 2039 Alhambra Circle with study of hips, connector and material differentiation
Summary
The board unanimously approved a COA for a rear addition at 2039 Alhambra Circle, asking the applicant to study lowering the addition’s height, convert gables to hips where appropriate, and differentiate materials between the original house and new work, including a proposed screen/loggia at the connector.
On Jan. 15 the Coral Gables Historic Preservation Board unanimously approved a special certificate of appropriateness for an addition and site work at 2039 Alhambra Circle, while directing the applicant to refine certain design elements to reduce the perceived scale of the new work.
Staff characterized the property as a contributing resource in the Alhambra Circle Historic District (1937 architect William Merriam) and raised concern that the proposed addition’s height could overwhelm the original one‑story portions. Architect Peter Kiligen described a plan that separates the addition with a courtyard and creates terraces and pool space; he said the project complies with zoning and that design choices were intended to keep new work secondary to the original.
Board members recommended several specific studies: convert the prominent gable facing Alhambra to a hip roof to lower the apparent scale; differentiate the low wall and front treatment from the rear pool screen; study a connector/loggia or screen at the courtyard to clarify the existing versus proposed volumes; and simplify certain curved detail elements that felt out of character. The board made those directions explicit as edited conditions to the COA.
A motion to approve the COA with those edited conditions — including editing condition 1 to include study of hips and possible lowering, and adding a condition to study the Ground‑Floor connector/loggia — passed unanimously. Staff will issue a result letter and COA reflecting the conditions and the board’s requested studies.
