Empira Plans 161-Unit Aurelian on Coral Gables Ponce Corridor
A Swiss investment manager is testing how much density and product Coral Gables' main commercial corridor will absorb, on ground the city already cleared once.
Empira Group is building a 161-unit luxury rental tower called The Aurelian at 912-921 East Ponce de Leon Boulevard, on a Coral Gables site the Swiss investment manager bought for $18 million.
Why it matters
Coral Gables fights hard over both density and product type on its main commercial corridor, and a 161-unit, 12-story luxury rental tower is a direct test of what the city will approve there now. Behar Font, the local firm designing the building, has deep standing with Coral Gables boards, and Empira is not starting from a blank entitlement slate. The Miami market has largely priced condo product at this address type; a rental play from a European sponsor signals confidence in Gables rents holding up a Class A build.
The numbers
The Aurelian rises 12 stories on a roughly 1.2-acre site spanning two corners of the block, with 161 one- to three-bedroom units, 248 parking spaces and about 324,000 square feet of construction. Empira paid $18 million for the assemblage. Amenities include a fitness center, yoga studio, resort-style pool, outdoor lounge and 5,000 square feet of public park space with a children’s play area; a bronze sculpture by artist Michele Oka Doner is planned for the entrance. Completion is targeted for 2028. The same address carried a 2018 city entitlement for a similarly scaled 12-story tower, Regency on the Park, approved by Coral Gables commissioners but never built after a 2020 delay.
What’s next
Empira has not disclosed a construction lender or a groundbreaking date beyond the 2028 completion target. Sponsors watching North Gables should track whether the city treats the standing PAD entitlement as a fast track for Empira’s permits, and whether the rental format holds against the neighborhood’s condo-heavy recent history.
On the record
What we checked ourselves, and where you can check it too.
- Public recordThe site carries a 2018 city Planned Area Development entitlement, granted by ordinance under the name Regency on the Park, for a 12-story tower that was delayed in 2020 and never built, meaning Empira is developing on ground the city already cleared once rather than starting entitlements from zero.View the record on miamitodaynews.com