Description:
The property contains a 14,148 square foot, two-story church structure constructed in 1951. The property was used as a place of worship and then a school before becoming vacant. The renovations include adaptive reuse as an event space and conversion of the existing office space on the second-floor to new offices. The owner intends to restore and preserve the architecture of the building as possible to the original design and the MiMo Subtropical Modernism style.
Construction Cost:
Summary:
The estimated cost to restore and renovate the property is approximately $3 million.
Cost of Construction:
Comments:
Construction Status:
*Briefly explain why the request has now been referred to the Commission.
Renovation requires approval from the City's Historic and Environmental Preservation Board (HEPB) because of its status as a contributing structure in a local historic district. In 2019, the owner obtained a Special Certificate of Appropriateness from the HEPB for the project. We have submitted permit plans to the City in strict compliance with HEPB approval. Final permit approval is pending approval of the waiver for vertical accessibility to the second-floor offices.
Requirements to be Waived.
Issue 1:
Florida-specific hotel/motel rooms
Minimum height in parking structures
Accessible parking
Vertical accessibility
Toilet rooms
Private
Other
Requirement pursuant to Section 553.509, Florida Statutes, and 2017 Florida Building Code Accessibility Code, 202.3 Requirements for Alterations of Existing Buildings and Facilities for vertical accessibility to offices on the second floor of the existing historic building.
Issue 2:
Florida-specific hotel/motel rooms
Minimum height in parking structures
Accessible parking
Vertical accessibility
Toilet rooms
Private
Other
Need Additional Space Issue 3:
Florida-specific hotel/motel rooms
Minimum height in parking structures
Accessible parking
Vertical accessibility
Toilet rooms
Private
Other
Need Additional Space
Grounds for waiver.
NOTE:**
Accessibility in this historic building is not feasible while maintaining its significant features. It is a contributing example of Subtropical Modernism in the City of Miami MiMo/Biscayne Boulevard Historic District. The technical infeasibility hardship is caused by conditions affecting the owner which does not affect owners in general. The narrow interior staircase prohibits vertical access to the second-floor offices. There is no way to add an elevator without compromising the public interior space and interfering with life-safety egress.