As the University of Miami enters its second century, it is mapping a sweeping transformation of its Coral Gables footprint, including new student housing, plans for its first full-service hospital on the main campus and a proposed seven-story football operations center tied to a broader 10-year strategy for growth and modernization.

The university’s expansion is guided by its “Roadmap to Our New Century,” a strategic plan unveiled during its centennial that outlines goals for advancing research, healthcare, student life and global engagement over the next decade. The campus-wide overhaul is being supported in part by Miami-Dade County commissioners’ March approval of $500 million in revenue bonds for unspecified capital projects across five University of Miami locations, including the Coral Gables campus, the medical campus, the Rosenstiel School on Virginia Key and UHealth facilities in Doral and North Miami.

Founded in 1925, UM marked its centennial in 2025 and used the milestone to outline a long-term vision centered on expanding academic excellence, research capacity and institutional reach beyond South Florida. University leaders have described the roadmap as a framework for the university’s next century of development across geographic and disciplinary boundaries.

The most visible changes on the Coral Gables campus are occurring in student housing, where UM is carrying out a multiyear Housing Facilities Strategic Plan aimed at replacing older dormitories with larger, modern residential colleges.

The next major phase is Gables Village, a 573,804-square-foot residential complex set to replace Mahoney-Pearson Residential College following demolition scheduled for this summer. The project, slated for completion by mid-2029, is to include two multistory towers with 1,458 beds, most of them private single rooms, along with study lounges, classrooms, recreational and event spaces, landscaped pedestrian corridors and a 700-seat dining hall.

The project is part of a broader effort to modernize student housing while sequencing construction to ensure new facilities open before older buildings are removed. Earlier phases of Centennial Village, which replaced Stanford and Hecht residential colleges, opened in 2024 and added 881 beds for primarily first-year students, with additional phases expected through 2026.

Beyond housing, UM is advancing one of its most significant long-term proposals: the development of a full-service hospital on the Coral Gables campus, which would mark a major expansion of its healthcare footprint beyond the existing Lennar Foundation Medical Center, an outpatient facility.

The hospital proposal is under review through the City of Coral Gables’ development process, including consideration by the Coral Gables Development Review Committee. The project would require amendments to the university’s Campus Development Agreement with the city, which were also under review this year.

The proposed facility would be built on a current surface parking area between the University Metrorail Station and the Watsco Center, placing it adjacent to a major transit hub and aligning the site with broader transit-oriented development goals. Plans call for a full-service hospital offering inpatient, outpatient and emergency care, significantly expanding medical services directly on the university’s main academic campus.

To enable the project, UM is seeking a series of zoning and development changes, including a 30% increase in allowable building area on campus, expanded campus boundaries extending along Ponce de Leon Boulevard, and increased retail allowances within campus development zones. Those changes would allow for greater density and flexibility in future academic and medical construction.

If approved, the hospital would represent a structural shift in how the Coral Gables campus functions, integrating a major acute-care medical facility into a campus that currently relies on nearby hospitals and outpatient centers for advanced care.

Athletics is also part of the long-term campus development plan. The university has proposed a seven-story Football Operations Center west of the Watsco Center that would serve as an on-campus hub for Hurricanes football.

The 172,000-square-foot facility would include locker rooms, training and nutrition centers, medical and recovery spaces, sports science and media facilities, recruiting areas and a rooftop terrace overlooking campus. It would also connect directly to the Carol Soffer Indoor Practice Facility via an elevated bridge and include a parking structure and dining space for student-athletes.

While the project remains in the planning and fundraising phase, the university has continued upgrades to existing athletic facilities, including expansions to the indoor practice facility and strength and conditioning spaces.

Although Coral Gables is the center of the most visible redevelopment, the county-approved bond financing also supports additional projects across UM’s medical campus, the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science on Virginia Key and UHealth facilities in Doral and North Miami, where further expansion and modernization efforts are planned.