Coral Gables Board of Architects: Mediterranean Revival Design Approval.

In Coral Gables, the Board of Architects must approve almost any exterior change to a residential property. This includes new construction, additions, exterior renovations, paint color changes, window replacements, roofing changes, fence and gate installations, paver and driveway changes, accessory structures, and even mailbox placement and material.

Interior renovations that don’t affect the exterior envelope generally don’t require BOA review and go directly to plan check at the Coral Gables Building & Zoning Department.

The BOA meets twice monthly. Submittals are due approximately three weeks before each meeting. The packet includes drawings, material samples, color samples, photo simulations, and a project narrative explaining how the proposed work conforms to the Mediterranean Revival aesthetic.

Coral Gables was founded in 1925 by George Merrick as a planned community modeled on Mediterranean Revival architecture — a style influenced by Spanish, Italian, and Moorish design. Merrick required that all original construction conform to this aesthetic, and the city has preserved that requirement in its architectural code.

Approved exterior materials reflect the Mediterranean Revival vocabulary: stucco walls (smooth or sand-finish, never trowel-textured patterns), coral rock or coral keystone for accents, barrel tile roofs (clay or concrete in approved earth tones), wood shutters (functional or decorative, but solid wood — not vinyl), wrought iron for railings and gates, and approved paint colors.

Disallowed materials and details include vinyl siding, asphalt shingle roofing, contemporary metal roofing (in most cases), aluminum railings (except where consistent with historic vocabulary), glass blocks (in most applications), and certain modern window profiles.

Coral Gables maintains an approved exterior paint palette of approximately 60 colors curated to fit the Mediterranean Revival aesthetic. Colors are predominantly soft earth tones — muted terra cotta, sand, ivory, dusty rose, sage, and pale ochre. Bright whites, primary colors, and high-saturation hues are not approved.

Trim colors must contrast appropriately with the body color and also come from the approved palette. Front door colors have slightly more flexibility — including some richer wood-stain finishes — but still require BOA approval.

Color samples submitted to the BOA must be physical paint samples (typically 8.5×11 brushouts) on the actual stucco or wood surface, photographed in natural light. Digital color references are not accepted.

BOA review typically runs 3–8 weeks per submittal cycle. Most projects go through 2–4 cycles before final approval — the BOA almost always requests revisions on initial submittal, particularly on new construction and major renovations.

Common revision requests include: revising window proportions to match Mediterranean Revival vertical orientation, replacing flat roof sections with appropriate hip or barrel-tile alternatives, modifying material specifications to use approved choices, simplifying ornamentation that the BOA considers excessive, and selecting different paint colors from the approved palette.

After BOA approval, your project proceeds to plan check at Coral Gables Building & Zoning, which evaluates structural, electrical, plumbing, mechanical, and life-safety code compliance. Plan check typically runs 6–12 weeks for a residential project.