Under proposals from three Florida state senators, many of the iconic Art Deco structures that give Miami Beach its distinct character may be at risk of being demolished, according to critics who claim they are leveraging worries about building safety and the need for affordable housing to support developers.
Rep. Spencer Roach and Sen. Bryan Avila, both Republicans, introduced the Resiliency and Safe Structures Act in the state Legislature in March as a means of replacing unsafe buildings with more durable, “resilient” architecture. Preservationists claim that the Act encourages owners to stop preserving historic sites and permits developers to demolish ancient buildings and replace them with enormous towers. The bill was approved by the state Senate but was put on hold in the House just before the May session came to a close. According to Roach, who spoke to NBC News, he is “fine-tuning” the text of his measure and intends to reintroduce it in January’s congressional session.
Republican state representative from Miami Beach, Fabián Basabe, proposed in June to allow developers to demolish older residential buildings and temporarily move occupants while newer, safer structures are constructed. According to Basabe, his strategy—which he claimed to have floated as a trial balloon ahead of the Legislature’s January session—is an innovative way to get around the legislative deadlock on development and solve safety issues.
Dolly MacIntyre, co-founder of the Miami preservation non-profit Dade Heritage Trust, called the situation “devastating” to NBC News. The majority of the state’s historic properties are located along the coast, and according to the suggestions, anything that is located there may be demolished if the owner so desired.
The Miami Design Preservation League’s Daniel Ciraldo concurred. According to the plans made by these fanatics, “the postcard of our entire South Florida region is all at risk,” he stated.
Avila’s legislative assistant stated that the notion of reintroducing the bill has not been explored. Email sent to Basabe’s office for comment received no response.
Owners of real estate on historic Miami Beach are among the developers who might profit from changes to the law, according to Ciraldo and MacIntyre. The plans would replace current development limitations and provide incentives to build larger structures. A vacant six-story apartment building with an Art Deco design on Collins Avenue is a good example. According to city planning papers, the complex is owned by 13th Floor Investments, a developer of residential and commercial properties with offices in Miami. The developer is only permitted to replace the site with another six-story building under present legislation, but if the proposed bill is passed, 13th Floor would be allowed to construct a high-rise there.
The iconic Art Deco row on Ocean Drive and Collins Avenue, which is home to the Greystone Hotel, Breakwater Hotel, and other landmarks that helped revitalise South Beach in the 1980s and 1990s, is of special concern to MacIntyre, Ciraldo, and others. Under the Resiliency and Safe Structures Act, only structures listed on the National Register of Historic Places would be exempt from demolition, and there are now just seven such structures in Miami Beach. The Miami Modern-styled historic Deauville Hotel, which was constructed in 1957, has already been demolished and is now a barren lot. The Miami Design Preservation League considers this instance to be a case of “demolition by neglect,” in which a property owner allows a building to deteriorate in order to demolish it and erect a larger structure in its place. On the day that the Deauville was destroyed, the league tweeted this.
The Deauville’s proprietors at the time it was condemned in 2021 denied abandoning the building and said they had invested millions in its preservation. A request for comment from NBC News went unanswered.
What will happen at the Deauville site is still unknown. Voters in Miami Beach defeated a referendum in November that would have allowed Stephen Ross, owner of the Miami Dolphins, to construct a posh condo and hotel complex there. Ross purchased the property in May 2022, and the condemned building was torn down in November.
The Resiliency and Safe Structures Act, according to Alex Fernandez, a member of the commission that controls Miami Beach alongside the mayor, is an attempt by the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature to deprive local governments of their control over land use and construction. Fernandez cites a another bill that Gov. Ron DeSantis just signed into law that restricts local governments’ ability to oversee zoning laws. The Live Local Act, which was passed as a remedy for the state’s affordable housing crisis, gives developers the right to disregard stringent zoning regulations provided they build more homes for those with lower incomes. However, according to the law, just 10% of these brand-new units must be designated as “affordable.”
Before the ordinance was passed, “increases in [building] density in Miami Beach could only be approved by the electorate,” Fernandez added. Then Tallahassee intervened, taking away that power from the local electorate and preempting their will.
Ciraldo thinks the deadly Surfside condo collapse in 2021, which claimed the lives of 98 occupants of a beachside tower just north of Miami Beach, is being used as an excuse by Florida politicians to forward the bill. “Unfortunately, that tragedy has kind of been used by some policymakers to say, ‘It’s time to redevelop all of the coastlines. Let’s knock everything down, we’ll build all luxury condominiums, and then everything will be safe.'” stated Ciraldo. But that’s probably an erroneous assumption, I said.
Roach and Avila added exemptions to their planned law this spring in response to criticism from historic preservation NGOs, which seems to favour some localities over others. Cities with at least three structures more than 200 years old and municipalities with populations of 10,000 or less are a few of the carve-outs. These exclusions did not apply to Miami Beach. Additionally, the measure exempts buildings that are situated in locations designated as “areas of critical state concern.” This classification applies to the towns of Arcadia and Punta Gorda, which are situated in Roach’s region.
According to available records, 13th Floor Investments contributed more than $10,000 to the “Friends of Spencer Roach” political action group and $11,000 to the political committee “Fighting for Florida’s Families PC,” which is connected to Avila. An email requesting feedback from 13th Floor Investments and one from Roach asking about the effects of the exclusions in his area received no response. The Miami Herald was the first to report on the company’s payments to the two lawmakers. 13th Floor Investments said in a statement to the Herald that their donations had nothing to do with the Resiliency and Safe Structures Act.
According to public records, a number of developers with an eye on properties near Miami Beach in Basabe’s area are also Basabe benefactors. Basabe has received at least $15,000 from real estate companies since 2020. One of them is David P. Wallack, who runs the restaurant and nightclub Mango’s Tropical Café at 900 Ocean Drive in Miami Beach’s Art Deco District. According to the Miami Herald, Wallack was negotiating to purchase three properties on Collins Avenue that were close to the club in late 2020. He intended to sell the properties to a developer who would then turn them into a multipurpose commercial complex. The transaction was unsuccessful. In 2022, Basabe’s campaign received at least $5,000 from Wallack and businesses he owned. Wallack said he was unaware of Basabe’s renovation in an email to NBC News.
Dezer Properties, a well-known real estate firm with properties in New York and Sunny Isles Beach, a neighbourhood north of Miami Beach, also gave $5,000 to Basabe. Former President Donald Trump and famous contributor Michael Dezer collaborated on the development of two Trump Tower apartment buildings in Sunny Isles Beach.
Russell W. Galbut, another Basabe benefactor, is a well-known Miami real estate entrepreneur and philanthropist. During the 2022 election season, he gave Basabe at least $3,500, largely in the form of $500 payments from five different businesses. According to The Real Deal, Galbut submitted designs for a 20-story, 125-unit condo development in North Miami Beach last year.