What to Expect from Mr. Rosenblatt: More Capital Spending
November 21, 2010 2 Comments
The visitors are not coming because of the absence of the new street-scape. It is the absence of relevant businesses, lack of a friendly environment and a missing leadership in shaping the kinds of business that are needed, and, please, not more tall buildings.
Friends, you will get more taxes from Mr. Rosenblatt.
But the biggest challenge of the BID still remains: getting the Streetscape Project off the paper before it is too late and visitors of downtown Coral Gables move to other sites. “We have to make sure we get this project done before downtown starts to underperform, Rosenblatt said. “We will have to partner up with city and residents so this is a priority that happens for everybody.
via Miracle Mile streetscape in limbo – Coral Gables – MiamiHerald.com.
About Stephen E. McGaughey
Coral Gables Watch 
I agree with Brad. Street improvements are a decade past due and it may have caused a lot of businesses to fail. It’s pathetic, unsightly and dangerous. That’s not an environment that might encourage business to thrive or consumers to flock to the area and spend quality time with our merchants.
I am never quite certain why, if Miracle Mile needed a facelift, that the city built a museum, and huge garage, Merrick Park, lost money at the Country Club and the Biltmore, built a little arts movie theater, etc. Is it that the city could care less about the businesses on Miracle Mile and was trying to drive busninesses away so they could build larger buildings? The BID seems like a rip off to the businesses. I personally favor South Miami with its nice little shops, movie theater, a book store, narrow sidewalks, bad parking and a friendly, cozy atmosphere. The only thing I can think of when I think about Miracle Mile is hamburgers, bridal gowns, jewelry stores, furniture stores, restaurants (OK), Starbucks, banks and Merrick Park. I have been at Pasadena that has a similar location, Georgetown (DC), Friendship Heights (Chevy Chase) none of which have the great amenities like wide sidewalks, but draw great crowds into great shops. It is hard to understand the leadership here.