Coral Gables This Week: Budget Final Vote, Election Season & Leasing

It's a consequential stretch for Coral Gables: the city's $323.3 million budget heads to its final vote next week, campaign season for the city's first-ever November election is in full swing, and the leasing momentum along Miracle Mile keeps reshaping the neighborhood around every office space in Coral Gables. Here's what business owners and tenants should know this week.

Budget heads to its final vote September 29

The City Commission gave preliminary approval to a $323.3 million budget for fiscal year 2027 on a 4-1 vote, with the final hearing set for Tuesday, September 29 at 5:01 p.m. at the Police and Fire Headquarters community meeting room, according to the Coral Gables Gazette. The headline for property owners and office tenants alike: the millage rate stays flat at 5.559 mills for the twelfth consecutive year.

The spending plan includes $174.2 million for personnel, $33.2 million for capital projects, $6 million for City Hall repairs, and $5 million for sea-level rise mitigation. Commissioner Melissa Castro cast the dissenting vote after her proposal to trim the millage rate by 3 percent failed to get a second.

One wrinkle worth watching: city officials flagged that Florida's Amendment 3, on the November 3 statewide ballot, could cost Coral Gables an estimated $7.7 million a year in property tax revenue if it passes — a number that would shape future budgets and, indirectly, the city services that make the Gables such a well-run place to do business.

Campaign season arrives — and it's a November election for the first time

Speaking of November 3: this is the year Coral Gables holds its first November municipal election, after voters approved moving city elections from April to align with the countywide calendar. Seven candidates qualified across three races, per the Coral Gables Gazette's campaign coverage.

Mayor Vince Lago is seeking his final term against attorney Laureano Cancio and perennial candidate Jackson "Rip" Holmes. Commissioner Melissa Castro defends her Group IV seat against Nestor Menendez, and the open Group V seat pits investor Gonzalo Sanabria against university fundraiser Nikki Whiting. Political Cortadito's September 20 election preview frames the commission races as another round in the ongoing tug-of-war over direction at City Hall — expect development, traffic, and the city's commercial corridors to feature heavily in the debates. The voter registration deadline is October 5, and a runoff, if needed, would land on December 1.

For anyone running a business here, the outcome matters: the next commission will steer decisions on parking, streetscapes, and development approvals that directly affect office rental Coral Gables tenants and the Miracle Mile retail environment. We covered the fall calendar in more detail in last week's look ahead.

Miracle Mile's leasing wave keeps rolling

The commercial story of the year in the Gables continues to be leasing velocity. Terranova Corporation has now completed 17 new leases and one expansion totaling nearly 96,800 square feet across its Miracle Mile and Alhambra Circle properties — more than $56 million in total rent — according to figures the Coral Gables Gazette updated this month. Tenants range from coworking operator Industrious (22,693 square feet at 255 Alhambra Circle) to upscale-casual restaurant Moxie's (18,787 square feet at 93 Miracle Mile), alongside Wells Fargo, Edward Jones, and an expanding Driftwood Capital.

The economics behind the surge are simple. Coral Gables office rents have averaged around $62 per square foot — well below Brickell's roughly $90 and Miami Beach's $113 — while offering a walkable, amenity-rich downtown that the Miami office market increasingly can't match at that price. We broke down the neighborhood-by-neighborhood numbers in our September rent comparison.

On the calendar: Day of Design

One date for your week: the inaugural Day of Design Coral Gables runs Tuesday, September 22 from 1 to 8 p.m., an afternoon-into-evening promenade through local design showrooms and studios celebrating the city's growing design scene. It's a good excuse to walk the downtown corridors — and a reminder of why creative firms keep landing here.

Put your business in the middle of it

A flat tax rate, an engaged electorate, and a leasing boom that keeps validating the neighborhood — the case for basing your company in the Gables keeps getting stronger. Gables Executive Offices puts you steps from Miracle Mile with furnished executive suites Coral Gables businesses can move into immediately: professional reception, conference rooms, and flexible terms, at a fraction of the cost of a traditional lease. If you've been comparing a furnished office Miami-wide, this is the moment to see what the Gables offers.

Want to see what your business could get in the Gables? Book a tour