With another legal victory and proposed funding, Miami-Dade County appears ready to move forward with its restoration plan. Opponents vow to fight on.
With proposed funding of $16.4 million and a recent legal victory, Miami-Dade County appears poised to put its plan for a renovated Coconut Grove Playhouse into action.
On August 29 Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal dismissed the most recent effort by opponents to halt the county’s plan to partially demolish the playhouse and resurrect it as a smaller performance space operated by the GableStage theater company.
County officials cheered the court ruling as a welcome conclusion to a prolonged and bitter struggle over the future of the historic landmark.
“We are pleased with the outcome of this litigation,” Miami-Dade District 7 Commissioner Raquel Regalado said in a statement.
“With this chapter behind us, we look forward to collaborating with our City of Miami partners and engaging with the community as we move forward to restore and rebuild the Coconut Grove Playhouse – a historic icon cherished by so many in our community.”
But opponents aren’t giving up the fight.
“The battle continues. Nothing has been decided yet,” said David Winker, the attorney representing two Coconut Grove residents seeking to halt the demolition. Winker filed a motion on September 13 asking the court for a rehearing.
The legal battle over the fate of the playhouse – between preservationists who want to restore the 1927 theater to its former glory and those who say the county’s plan is more economically viable – has left the landmark in limbo for 18 long years.
At issue: the county’s plan to demolish the 1,150-seat performance space at the rear of the structure, while preserving the front building and façade with street-level storefronts and second floor office space or apartments.
To complete the project, the county would add a 300-seat modern theater, a pedestrian walkway, additional retail and office space, and a parking garage (to be built by the Miami Parking Authority).
Opponents say the county’s plan would turn the playhouse into a shopping mall. They point to the theater’s designation as a historic site by Miami’s Historic and Environmental Preservation Board (HEPB) and its inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places as compelling reasons to preserve and restore the entire structure.
The current legal battle dates back to January 2023 when the City of Miami granted the county a waiver to proceed with the partial demolition of the playhouse.
Winker appealed that decision to Miami’s Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board (PZAB) on behalf of two Charles Avenue neighbors, Anthony Vinciguerra and Courtney Berrien.
The PZAB voted in March 2023 to uphold the appeal, successfully delaying the demolition. The county went to court to challenge that decision, winning a reversal in February of this year.
A three-judge panel of Miami-Dade Circuit Court’s appellate division found that the PZAB “applied the wrong law, made a decision unsupported by competent substantial evidence and deprived (the county) of due process.”
Opponents appealed again, but with less success. The Third District Court of Appeal dismissed Winker’s appeal three weeks ago in a one-paragraph ruling. Speaking this week with the Spotlight, Winker expressed his determination to continue the fight.
“We are basically arguing that the PZAB got it right. The PZAB had all the evidence in front of them and the court is second guessing it when there was substantial competent evidence to support its decision,” Winker said.
“The best decisions are made the closest to the problems. In this case you have a court reviewing decisions by people who are making these planning decisions for the city every day,” he added.
“So, our contention is very respectfully telling the court that we feel that the PZAB overturned the demolition permit because they felt strongly that the evidence showed that there were grounds to say that, no, the county should not be permitted to demolish the playhouse.”
As the battle continues, the county has budgeted $16.4 million for construction work in the fiscal year that begins October 1. The entire project is budgeted at $57.2 million.
If and when the renovation is complete, GableStage will manage the playhouse and operations will be supported with revenue from the project’s leased commercial space and an adjacent parking garage. The garage will be built by the Miami Parking Authority regardless of what happens to the playhouse, Miami District 2 Commissioner Damian Pardo told the Spotlight this month.
