COCONUT GROVE, FLA. (WSVN) - City commisioners were expected to make a landmark decision concerning a controversial proposal would give the green light to sell a historic but deteriorating theater in downtown Miami at a very deep discount, but one official said more evaluations are needed.
As of late Thursday afternoon, the future of the iconic Olympia Theater is still hanging in the balance.
After a nearly eight-hour debate at the Miami City Commission in Coconut Grove, Vice Chairman Joe Carollo requested further evauations of the theatre from the city manager.
“If you don’t come back with a contract, a business sense contract for us, not for them, you’re not going to have my vote,” said Carollo.
The vice chairman requires this step prior to the commission voting on whether the for-profit SLAM! charter school will acquire the historic gem or whether the Olympia theatre remain city-owned.
In the case that SLAM! does acquire the 1926 theater, they’ll do so via a quitclaim deed for much less than one would think.
“Worth approximately $18 million, all for just $10, t-e-n, $10,” said a woman during the hearing.
SLAM’s potential plans for the landmark venue includes a full restoration of the theater, as well as using the 10-story building adjacent to it for schooling.
“Putting the OIlympia Theater in partnership with SLAM! ensures a pipeline of local youth who will continue to enrich this proud city. They are the future of Miami,” said a supporter of the sale of the Olympia.
Some supporters of the city’s proposal to sell the theater found themselves between a rock and a hard place during Thursday’s commission meeting.
“And restore assets, especially like the Olympia Theater, instead of giving it off to a private entity and saying, ‘This is the best choice we have,'” said an opponent of the sale.
Commissioners presented the potential sale as a symbiotic relationship rather than a handoff.
“There’s been some confusion out there. Some think the plan is to turn the Olympia into a school, but that’s simply not true. What’s actually proposed is a collaborative vision,” said a supporter of the sale.
A vast majority of those who took the podium to address the commission view the city’s sale to SLAM! as the only way to prevent the historic landmark, located along Flagler Street, from disappearing completely.
“A yes to SLAM! being able to restore a 10-story building, and to the Olympia Theater being restored by us, will be a yes to future students having the same ability to be molded with real-world experiences that will give them Internships and community involvement,” said a supprter of the sale.
Others however, found themselves up in arms.
“Restoring the theater is good. Giving it to private developers like this isn’t something that I can support,” said an opponent of the sale.
“There are no safeguards or commitments that can justify giving away this valuable resource,” said another opponent of the sale.
In the event that SLAM acquires the theater and fails to facilitate its restoration in accordance with historic preservation rules, the City of Miami would reclaim ownership.
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