The City of Miami has lifted the stop-work order imposed last month after a construction mistake threatened to topple the historic playhouse, but questions remain about why the 99-year-old structure wasn’t braced before demo work began.
Demolition work on the Coconut Grove Playhouse has resumed after an independent engineer completed a structural assessment of the building following the partial collapse of the playhouse’s third floor and the emergency installation of exterior bracing.
City of Miami building officials lifted the stop-work order last week after receiving the structural assessment from Youssef Hachem Consulting Engineers. The firm was asked to certify the safety of the structure following the May 21 collapse.
Questions remain, however, over why the 99-year-old playhouse wasn’t braced before demolition work began in April.
Asked whether Miami-Dade County and its contractor should have braced the building as a precaution before starting work, Miami city officials pointed to a set of bracing plans submitted by Wood/O’Donnell & Naccarato in January 2023 and approved by the city on April 15, 2025, before work began.
Under the heading “Sequence of Bracing and Structural Demolition,” the structural engineering firm wrote:
“The temporary bracing foundations and temporary bracing for the existing historic building walls to remain must be installed prior to any structural demolition of the existing theater buildings and any structural demolition in the historic building.”
County officials maintain that they had always intended to brace the building at some point during demolition work, but accelerated those plans after the collapse of the third floor compromised the structural integrity of the playhouse’s roof and exterior walls.
Wood/O’Donnell’s bracing plan notes the poor condition of the historic building, which has sat empty for 19 years after the playhouse abruptly closed in 2006.
Under the heading “Floor Enhancements,” Wood/O’Donnell noted that:
“The building structure is in a deteriorated state. There exist a number of unsafe floor areas throughout the building that cannot support foot traffic. Contractor shall carefully survey all work areas and install barricades, temporary shoring and/or perform temporary floor enhancements as required to provide safe walking surfaces during the bracing and demolition phase.”
City officials say the third floor cratered after construction workers removed a load-bearing wall by mistake. Two workers who were inside the building at the time were struck by falling debris. Neither worker was seriously injured.
Asked whether anyone – the contractor and/or responsible parties – would be disciplined or fined if an investigation into the collapse showed negligence, the city responded by saying the “collapse was deemed to be an accident.”
In response to another question about what steps had been taken to ensure that, going forward, all work on the playhouse will be done properly and according to plan, the city noted that the special inspector on the job – NOVA Engineering – had been replaced.
The new special inspector: Youssef Hachem Consulting Engineers.
The City of Miami lifted the stop-work order on June 9 after receiving Hachem’s structural assessment. The Spotlight has requested a copy of that report but had not received it in time for this story.
The demolition work currently underway constitutes the first phase of the county’s plan to restore and reopen the landmark theater. The county plans to demolish the rear auditorium, build a new 300-seat theater in its place, and restore the front of the playhouse – the distinctive, three-story building on Main Highway and Charles Avenue.
The project has been delayed for years by litigation, and opponents of the county’s plan are still in court, fighting to block the work now underway.
Earlier this week, Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Mavel Ruiz set a calendar for the pending lawsuit, with a projected trial date of June 10, 2026 – a year from now.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to include new information provided by the City of Miami regarding when the playhouse bracing plans were submitted by Wood/O’Donnell and subsequently approved by the City of Miami.
Continuing to qualify the destruction of the Playhouse’s theater with words like “rear auditorium,” instead of main theater, diminishes the importance of what is happening and is intentionally misleading. The Playhouse is rightly named, a house in which plays are presented. Dade County is destroying the house in the Playhouse. It is time to communicate about it clearly and honestly. This is in no way a historic restoration project.
The County’s current plan is not a restoration — it is a demolition in disguise. Let’s be clear: the proposal only preserves the facade, not the historic building itself. Since 1926, this has been one contiguous structure, rich with the architectural details of Kiehnel and Elliott, as well as Alfred Browning Parker. If this plan moves forward, all those details—especially in the auditorium, the largest and most significant space—will be erased.
The County’s proposal to save a mere facade, with random fragments from the original building, is not preservation; it’s a travesty. It replaces a true historic landmark with a commercial real estate project, tacking on a diminished, “subservient” 300-seat theater as an excuse.
Let’s not forget: in 2004, the people of Miami-Dade County voted overwhelmingly to use $20 million in taxpayer-funded bond money for a restoration — not demolition. The ballot language was clear. The County gave us their word: restoration, not destruction.
It’s time to hold them accountable. Anything less than a true restoration is a betrayal of our community, our history, and the will of the voters.