Fate of prohibition-era Miami Beach club in limbo
The Miami Herald reports: The ugly duckling clubhouse on Hibiscus Island has great value. That much preservationists and the defunct Miami Beach Rod & Reel Club can agree on.
Their year-long disagreement lies in just how much that value is: the $3.95 million asking price for the bayfront lot on which the structure sits, or the building's priceless history as a Prohibition-era social club and the former home to one of Florida's oldest fishing organizations.
Tomorrow, that argument will come to a head as Miami Beach commissioners decide whether to declare the building historic. Preservationists say the designation would save an important piece of Miami Beach.
"There's absolutely no doubt it's one of the most historic structures on Miami Beach,'' said William Cary, head of historic preservation for the city.
Club members say the wood-frame building is too dilapidated to be preserved and the historic designation would lower the property's value and make it nearly impossible to sell.
"If they declare the property historic, it's going to ruin us,'' said Steve Tunstall, an attorney and equity member of the club.
The remaining 52 members of club have been in limbo since the summer of 2009, when escalating property taxes and a declining membership forced the 79-year-old club to fold. They vacated their clubhouse at 218 S. Hibiscus Dr. in July and put the 31,000-square-foot lot and a parking lot across the street up for sale.
Around the same time the club fell apart, the city learned of the members' intent to sell.
Worried about the likely demolition of one of Miami Beach's earliest remaining structures, city planners moved to declare the building historic and require that the owner tear down the 1950s-era additions and restore what remains of the 1925 building.
What has followed is a battle that pits property rights against preservation.
Their year-long disagreement lies in just how much that value is: the $3.95 million asking price for the bayfront lot on which the structure sits, or the building's priceless history as a Prohibition-era social club and the former home to one of Florida's oldest fishing organizations.Tomorrow, that argument will come to a head as Miami Beach commissioners decide whether to declare the building historic. Preservationists say the designation would save an important piece of Miami Beach.
"There's absolutely no doubt it's one of the most historic structures on Miami Beach,'' said William Cary, head of historic preservation for the city.
Club members say the wood-frame building is too dilapidated to be preserved and the historic designation would lower the property's value and make it nearly impossible to sell.
"If they declare the property historic, it's going to ruin us,'' said Steve Tunstall, an attorney and equity member of the club.
The remaining 52 members of club have been in limbo since the summer of 2009, when escalating property taxes and a declining membership forced the 79-year-old club to fold. They vacated their clubhouse at 218 S. Hibiscus Dr. in July and put the 31,000-square-foot lot and a parking lot across the street up for sale.
Around the same time the club fell apart, the city learned of the members' intent to sell.
Worried about the likely demolition of one of Miami Beach's earliest remaining structures, city planners moved to declare the building historic and require that the owner tear down the 1950s-era additions and restore what remains of the 1925 building.
What has followed is a battle that pits property rights against preservation.
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