Coral Gables Art Cinema nearing awaited expansion

Plans to expand the Coral Gables Art Cinema are moving forward with the city’s support.

Expansion design and development plans ran into issues with the construction documents that were recently resolved. Now, the cinema’s operators are waiting to be able to get access to the new space to conduct a required asbestos inspection, said Brenda Moe, Coral Gables Art Cinema’s executive director, during last week’s commission meeting.

“I wanted to really highlight one of the necessities for a second location for single-screen cinema like ours, which is the economic impact that we are already creating in the downtown corridor. So, things that are important are the parking revenue impact that we see from August 2024 to August 2025, almost 18,000 patrons use the parking validation machine that is in our lobby, which is generating an estimated $53,000 in city revenue through the parking garage,” she said. “A conservative estimate of attendees who aren’t using the validator we can put at 16,000, which adds another $48,000 in parking revenue.”

Currently, the city is collecting upwards of $130,000 in parking revenue from art cinema patrons, she continued.

“The expansion of our patronage will only expand that city’s revenue. Currently, our total economic impact is $2.82 million,” Ms. Moe said. “Our membership impact, we have hit 2,500 members, which is an incredible milestone for a small organization like ours.”

Not only are the residents making an impact at the cinema and on the economy of the downtown corridor through their patronage of the cinema, but the visitor impact from August 2024 to August 2025 saw almost 23,000 tickets purchased by customers from outside of Coral Gables, she said.

“If we put a conservative $20 in local spending to every one of those customers, we are seeing outside dollars coming into the downtown corridor of almost half a million dollars,” Ms. Moe explained. “That’s real impact that our cultural center is having on the downtown corridor, and that’s the value that we bring.”

Initially set to break ground with an expansion in February 2022, the Coral Gables Art Cinema is converting a storefront retail space at 240 Aragon Ave. into a modern 92-seat film theater with a large lobby, curated café, and administrative offices.

A re-envisioned storefront is to feature late 19th through 20th century cinema museum artifacts, which, management says, enhance the beautification of the city and cultural arts experience. More sensory-friendly screenings, curated conversations with cultural arts and film experts, and programming for underserved children will be heavily on the agenda for the new auditorium.

“I want to start moving forward,” Mayor Vince Lago said last week. “I will get the asbestos test completed with the manager, and we’ll move forward in getting your construction documents reviewed. I’m going to request in one month for this to be put on the agenda as a follow-up.”