Spotlight 180-260206

Good morning. What we’re covering in today’s Spotlight:

Making Movies in Miami
A New Challenge to The WELL
A Design Date for Fuller Street
Another Deferral on Leafy Way

A Love Letter to Coconut Grove – On the Big Screen

A local filmmaker chose to shoot his most recent feature in Coconut Grove, bucking an industry trend that has seen producers forsake Florida for friendlier climes.

By Caitlin Granfield

There was a time when Miami was a hot-spot location for movies and TV shows.

Movies like “2 Fast 2 Furious” (2003), “Marley & Me (2008), “Bad Boys II” (2003) and “Moonlight” (2016) – all were shot in Miami.

Today, that spotlight has faded. The reason: economics.

Judge Asked to Halt Permits for The WELL in Height Dispute

Opponents of The WELL Coconut Grove are seeking an emergency court order to block city permits, arguing a 2023 zoning change that created a short-lived loophole to allow taller buildings in some part of the Grove was unlawfully adopted.

By David Villano

An emergency motion filed early this week asks a Miami-Dade Circuit Court judge to block the City of Miami from issuing any building permits for The WELL Coconut Grove and other projects that rely on a disputed 2023 zoning change that briefly allowed taller buildings in parts of Coconut Grove.

The request for a temporary injunction escalates a lawsuit originally filed last August and amended last month, which challenges the legality of the city’s so-called bonus-height ordinance.

The lawsuit’s plaintiffs argue the law was invalid from the start because it was approved with undisclosed last-minute changes — in possible violation of Florida’s public notice requirements — that stripped Coconut Grove of height-limit protections included in the publicly-noticed version.

Design Process to Begin for Kirk Munroe, Fuller Street

The developer in charge of leading the design process for the two public spaces will convene a public meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 18 to gather input from local residents and stakeholders.

By Jenny Jacoby

With a city-approved development management agreement (DMA) in hand, the Allen Morris Company has a greenlight to make improvements to Kirk Munroe Park and Fuller Street in Coconut Grove, beginning with a publicly-focused design process.

The developer behind the proposed Ziggurat development at the corner of Grand Avenue and Matilda Street will convene a public meeting to discuss design plans on Wednesday, Feb. 18 starting at 6 p.m. at the Sandbar Sports Grill.

Leafy Way Tree-Removal Plan Deferred by Preservation Board

A proposal to remove 75 trees from a Leafy Way property in a South Coconut Grove Environmental Preservation District was deferred for a fifth time in less than a year, frustrating residents who say repeated postponements are wearing down public oversight.

By Jenny Jacoby

A proposal to remove more than 90 percent of the trees from a Leafy Way home in a South Coconut Grove Environmental Preservation District has been deferred by the city’s Historic and Environmental Preservation Board (HEPB) — for a fifth time in less than a year.

A handful of residents who attended the board meeting last Tuesday walked out exasperated.

“This is the third time I’ve come to City Hall to try to speak up for the trees and every time it’s been postponed,” Coconut Grove resident Cynthia Fleischmann said.

Where We’ll Be – A Grovite’s Calendar

Not Everything Peaks on Super Bowl Sunday

Super Bowls can fade fast. Around the Grove, attention is already shifting to next weekend’s quiet pull of romance, shared time, music, and moments that don’t rush down the field. This week’s calendar reads less like a spectacle and more like an invitation to slow down and notice who’s standing beside you. Then make plans, together.

That tone comes through in small, telling ways: a picnic lawn and indie folk under the moon at the Barnacle, opera voices letting silence do the talking at St. Hugh, a West Grove history walk that ties love of place to lived memory. Even the Arts Festival preview feels like a prompt to plan how to wander together. This is a weekend meant to be experienced, not watched.