217-95 RDA
RESOLUTION NO.
217-95
A RESOLUTION OF THE CHAIRMAN AND MEMBERS OF
THE MIAMI BEACH REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY
AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TO
PROCEED WITH DEMOLITION OF THE CORAL ROCK
HOUSES LOCATED IN BLOCK 53 OF THE SOUTH POINTE
REDEVELOPMENT AREA, AS RELOCATION OF THESE
EXISTING STRUCTURES IS NOT TECHNICALLY
FEASmLE DUE TO THEIR STRUCTURALLY UNSOUND
AND POTENTIALLY UNSAFE CONDITION.
WHEREAS, pursuant to the City of Miami Beach (City) and Miami Beach Redevelopment
Agency's (Agency) respective responsibilities under the Development Agreement with Cobb
Partners, South Beach, Ltd. (Developer), certain parcels of land within the South Pointe
Redevelopment Area were to be acquired and cleared, including environmental cleanup, for sale to
the Developer, and one of these blocks, Block 53, included two coral rock cottages (the structures);
and
WHEREAS, due to the City Administration's position that structures of this nature are
worthy of preservation, prior to the acquisition of these structures the Agency initiated inquiries
regarding the feasibility of relocating same; and
WHEREAS, on December 6, 1994, the Agency and the Developer appeared before the
Design Review Board regarding revisions to the Washington Avenue facade of the Cobb Project and,
as part of the approval by the Design Review Board for the revised plans, the Developer and Agency
were instructed, in the Board's Order of December 6, 1994, to use best efforts to relocate the existing
structures on the property, if technically feasible; and
WHEREAS, following acquisition of these structures by the Agency, the City and Agency,
among other efforts in their attempts to successfully relocate the structures, engaged a structural
engineer to determine the feasibility of such an endeavor, and said study concluded that, based upon
the deteriorated condition of the structures, they were structurally unsafe and the recommendation
to demolish, rather than attempt to lift and move them to a different site, was made; and
WHEREAS, based upon the aforestated expert opinion, the Agency would herein support
the structural engineer's findings and recommend that the Executive Director be authorized to
proceed with demolition of the structures, pursuant to the clearance of Block 53, as required by the
Development Agreement among the Agency, City and Developer; and
WHEREAS, as the structures are not located within a historic district, the City's
Development Regulations in Section 19 of Zoning Ordinance No. 89-2665, requiring that a
Certificate of Appropriateness for Demolition be obtained from the City's Historic Preservation Board
prior to demolition of a property located within a historic district, would not apply.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT DULY RESOLVED by the Chairman and Members of the
Board of the Miami Beach Redevelopment Agency that the Executive Director is authorized to
proceed with demolition of the coral rock houses located in Block 53 of the South Pointe
Redevelopment Area, as relocation of these existing structures is not technically feasible due to their
structurally unsound and potentially unsafe condition.
PASSED and ADOPTED this
27th day of September, 1995.
ATTEST:
MAYOR
A:\rau1\coralroc.res
FORM APPROVED
REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY
GENERA~Z-
By 14
Date 4 . 7: /?, ')
RJA:lm
Miami Beach
Redevelopment Agency
1700 Convention Center Drive
Miami Beach, Florida 33139
Telephone: (305) 673-7193
Fax: (305) 673-7772
REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY MEMORANDUM NO. 95-60
September 27, 1995
TO: Chairman and Members of the Board of the
Miami Beach Redevelopment Agency
FROM: Jose Garcia-Pedrosa, Executive Director.
SUBJECT: A RESOLUTION OF THE CHAIRMAN AND MEMB S
BEACH REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR TO PROCEED WITH DEMOLITION OF THE CORAL ROCK
HOUSES LOCATED IN BLOCK 53 OF THE SOUTH POINTE
REDEVELOPMENT AREA, AS RELOCATION OF THESE EXISTING
STRUCTURES IS NOT TECHNICALLY FEASIBLE DUE TO THEIR
STRUCTURALLY UNSOUND AND POTENTIALLY UNSAFE CONDITION.
RECOMMENDATION
The Administration recommends that the Chairman and Members of the
Agency Board authorize the demolition of the coral rock houses
located in Block 53 of the South pointe Redevelopment Area.
BACKGROUND
Redevelopment Agency Memorandum No. 95-57, a copy of which is
attached hereto as Exhibit "A", summarized the pertinent facts upon
which the Administration reluctantly based the recommendation to
demolish the coral rock houses located in Block 53 in the South
pointe Redevelopment Area. At the September 13, 1995 Agency
meeting the Board requested that Miami Design Preservation League
(MDPL) representatives and structural engineer be given the
opportunity to perform an evaluation of the condition of these
structures.
S()UTti V()I~
I:?edevel()pment Distnct
CIIT CI:~TI:V
I:?edevel()pment District
AGENDA ITEM 2-D
September 27, 1995
On Tuesday, September 19, 1995, MDPL made their analysis and it is
the understanding of the Administration that a representative of
MDPL will be present at today's meeting to confirm their findings.
We have been given a verbal report that their engineer, Robert H.
Schuler, P.E., Chairman of the Historical Preservation Board for
the City of Miami Beach, finds the buildings, due to lack of
structural frames, exceedingly difficult and impractical to move.
ANALYSIS
Based on the
Administration
unfortunately,
confirmatory analysis conducted by MDPL,
believes that demolition of these structures
the only alternative.
the
is,
CONCLUSION
The Administration recommends authorization to proceed with the
demolition and environmental cleanup as contractually obligated in
the Cobb Development Agreement.
JGP :MSD: jm
Attachment