With final zoning approvals in hand, Miami-Dade County is preparing to submit Phase 2 construction plans for the Coconut Grove Playhouse to the City of Miami to obtain a building permit for the long-stalled project.
Now that the Miami City Commission has blessed its plan for rebuilding the Coconut Grove Playhouse, Miami-Dade County is preparing to submit building plans to the city and recruit a general contractor to begin construction of a new theater.
The Miami City Commission voted unanimously July 9 to approve the zoning exceptions and waivers the county needed to move forward with the $59 million project.
The county said the vote will allow it to begin Phase 2 of the project, including the restoration of the playhouse’s 1926 facade, the construction of a 310-theater behind it, and the addition of a 289-space parking garage on the surface lot next door.
The timeline for that construction is unclear, however. The county has said it would like to reopen the playhouse – at least partially – to celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2027, but the clock is ticking, and playhouse opponents haven’t given up.
The county will need to obtain a building permit from the City of Miami and initiate a competitive bidding process for a general contractor to do the work. The county said that solicitation could begin as soon as late summer.
In the interim, project opponents may choose to challenge the commission’s decision in court, resulting in another round of litigation and more delay.
“Our group hopes to avoid further litigation, if possible,” Courtney Berrien, a member of Preserve the West Grove and a named plaintiff in previous litigation against the county, said in a statement this week.
“We want to give the City and the County the opportunity to demonstrate how the neighbors will have meaningful input in the plans for protecting the surrounding neighborhood.”
Berrien and others had asked the City Commission to withhold approval unless and until the county committed in writing to address the concerns of the West Grove neighbors who live within 500 feet of the playhouse.
The commission chose instead to approve the county’s plan with a series of conditions that may – or may not – address West Grove concerns about traffic, commercial intrusion, job opportunities, programming, and the loss of neighborhood identity.
Miami District 2 Commissioner Damian Pardo proffered those conditions as a compromise, but neighbors say the stipulations lack clarity and fall short of the ironclad commitment they were seeking.
Anthony Vinciguerra of Preserve the West Grove said he and his neighbors were disappointed “that the appeal was approved without the conditions really being made clear – or binding.”
He noted that the county, in the walk-up to the July 9 vote, had used conditional phrasing like “exploring options” and “depending on funding” when addressing neighborhood concerns. “So we’re very confused by Pardo’s claim that anything concrete is being committed to,” Vinciguerra said.
“That said, we’d still like to give the City / County a chance to show they are sincere. We’ll be working with our board to reach out to the County and City to hopefully get clarity on these commitments – while also exploring our legal options.”
Pardo himself indicated that the July 9 vote and the conditions he outlined were a step in the process, not the final word. “It doesn’t end here,” Pardo told his fellow commissioners. “The commitment is to continue the conversation.”
When asked this week if they had a plan or schedule for those conversations, county officials said they will work with Pardo’s office to fulfill that commitment.
“The County has committed to active community engagement throughout the completion of the project and will work with the District Commissioner to schedule those meetings,” the county said in a statement.
In the meantime, the county’s Department of Cultural Affairs encouraged those who want to follow the project to subscribe to a community meeting mailing list and review a list of the 10 most frequently asked questions on its website.
