Roger Development Gets OK to Develop Mixed-Use Complex

CORAL GABLES, FL-Locally based Roger Development Group has received approval from the city to develop One Village Place, a luxury condominium and retail complex. Plans call for 126 residences and 22 for-sale retail outlets in a 10-story Mediterranean tower on 1.2 acres on Salzedo Street.The retail part of One Village Place will consist of 27,900 sf total for the ground-level retail spaces. Averaging 1,268 sf per retail outlet, the outlets will range from 700 sf to 2,400 sf. At press time, 21 of the retail spaces were under reservation. Restaurants, upscale boutiques, a gourmet market and coffee shops are among the tenants expected at One Village Place, says May Castro, vice president and chief operating officer for Roger Development Group. Other potential tenants include an antique shop and an electronics store.”We expect very high-end businesses to go in there,” she says. She could not disclose names of the companies that have reserved the retail space.The residential component of the project is selling “very well,” according to Castro. “We’re 50% sold, and we’re selling more every day.” The residences, which will range from around 1,000 sf to about 2,400 sf, are pre-construction priced from the $300,000s to the $600,000s. The units will consist of two-bedroom and two-bedroom-plus-den condos, some two-bedroom-plus-den penthouses, and two- and three-story lofts. The development has a $60-million projected sellout value. One Village Place is designed to offer residents a place to live, work and play and there is a market for such as development in that area, Castro says. “First of all, it’s in Coral Gables, and Coral Gables is a great place to live; it’s safe; it’s beautiful. We’re going to be the first ones in the area. The area is up and coming,” she says.Oscar Roger closed on the site in April 2003, then worked to plan and re-zone the area, which had been zoned commercial and industrial. In January, the state approved the mixed-use district zoning, allowing for about 1,000 new residential condos and 250,000 sf of retail space in that area. Developers expect to break ground on One Village Place in November, with a projected buildout in December 2005.One Village Place is going up across the street from the Village of Merrick Park, a new $300-million open-air mall that has restaurants, outdoor cafes, high-end stores and a spa. The Rouse Co. built the mall last year. “Everything’s within walking distance,” including signature tenants such as Neiman Marcus, Gucci, Tiffany, five-star restaurants, outdoor cafes, gourmet markets, Castro says. “You won’t have to take your car to go to any of these places–it’s like a village.”A general contractor for the project was not yet selected at press time. The project architect is Fullerton Diaz Architects Inc. Gables Premier Realty, Inc. is handling sales and marketing of the project.Roger Development Group’s other projects include Gables on the Green, Gables Park Tower, Kendale Lakes West, Le Phare, Coral Reef Gardens, Boca Linda Estates and El Lago Country Club.