The recent celebration of the grand reopening of Miracle Mile marked an incredible moment for Coral Gables.
The crowds, the energy and the infinite enthusiasm for our City Beautiful was palpable throughout the night and a strong sign of even greater days ahead for our local businesses and our community’s main street. We are well on our way to getting Back to Beautiful.
Since the beginning, our Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce has been a stalwart supporter and invested partner in the both the vision and journey of an updated Miracle Mile and Giralda Avenue. Throughout the construction woes, we have done everything in our power to support our merchants, including complimentary chamber memberships, additional programing that provided our shop owners with tools and tactics to help them sustain during the most difficult of construction phases, and the supplementation of a grant program for merchants along the Mile.
Now that the hard labor is done, the real work is ahead — and that includes rebuilding an audience of sophisticated diners and shoppers, as well as discerning consumers who are looking for a retail district that is not only beautiful, but is a new, bold destination.
As a chamber, we are proud of our city officials for the political will they showed in moving this project forward after years of mere discussion. We applaud the merchants for their tenacity and temerity during the past two years of difficulty and heartache. And, we say thank you to the designers and craftsmen for helping us put the “Miracle” back in our Miracle Mile.
Most importantly, we thank all of you who are looking to spend your hard-earned dollars in our local business community. We need you now more than ever — not just to get back to beautiful, but to help us all get back to business.
Mark A. Trowbridge is president and CEO of the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce.
