Other Views

HERALD BUILDING

Herald Building doesn’t meet ‘historical’ standard

 

Maferre2002@aol.com

• It does not qualify for a waiver as it is not an integral part of a historical district (MiMo District is 35 blocks away (3.5 miles north).

Neither the Knight brothers, nor Knight-Ridder Newspapers, ever requested historical designation and resisted historic designation (during the previous adjacent Shrine building historical application review).

The Fontainebleau and Eden Roc Hotels, built in the same period, are prime examples of MiMo architecture, yet are not registered historic sites. The Maule Building (on 54th Street and Biscayne Blvd.) designed by architect Russell Pancoast was MiMo at its best, but it was demolished without an objection from the Miami Historic Preservation Board.

Historic designation of the Miami Herald Building could deprive the city of millions in needed tax revenues and jobs that a balanced, multi-use resort on that prime Miami site could produce.

Since other gaming companies will be competitive to Genting, Trump, Sands, Ceasars Palace and others would have an unfair advantage if Genting’s Herald property is eliminated as a possible casino site.

Lastly, but important, the designation as historical of a large press building like The Miami Herald, not usable for a resort mega project, would be confiscatory ($236 million), without due compensation, and would send an anti-business, anti-development message to other future business developers.

I am and have always been a supporter of the City of Miami’s Historic and, Environmental Preservation Program and MDC’s Dade Heritage Trust. But I feel that the designation of The Miami Herald Building as a Historical Building is overreach, unfair and would be a blow to our tourist economy.

I am sure that the Miami Historical Preservation Board, the City of Miami Commission and the Mayor of Miami will act with balance, prudence and fairness in this important decision.

Maurice Ferre is a former Miami mayor, Miami-Dade County commissioner and state legislator.

Read more Other Views stories from the Miami Herald

  •  

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's more moderate stance has caused him to fall out of favor with supreme leaders.

    MIDDLE EAST

    Frida Ghitis: Iran’s democracy charade

    Keep an eye on Iran over the coming weeks. The country is in the process of shedding the final vestiges of democracy as it heads to a new presidential election on June 14. It is a sad unraveling of an experiment that began more than 30 years ago.

  •  

GORSKI

    CHILDREN & EDUCATION

    Lessons from Finland can help our children

    How well prepared are our children to keep our nation secure and prosperous for another generation? I’m concerned. But don’t take my word. Just check what The Miami Herald has reported:

  •  

300 dpi Rick Nease color illustration of tree whose trunk looks like a DNA strand; can be used with stories about DNA. The Detroit Free Press 2009<p>

07000000; HTH; krthealth health; krtnational national; krtworld world; MED; krt; mctillustration; 07014004; genetics gene; HEA; medical specialization specialty; de contributed; dna; family tree; nease; 2009; krt2009

    LAW & MEDICINE

    Angelina Jolie and the case of patented genes

    Angelina Jolie’s genes threatened to kill her. But, for the time being anyway, she doesn’t own them.

Miami Herald

Join the
Discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere on the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

The Miami Herald uses Facebook's commenting system. You need to log in with a Facebook account in order to comment. If you have questions about commenting with your Facebook account, click here.

Have a news tip? You can send it anonymously. Click here to send us your tip - or - consider joining the Public Insight Network and become a source for The Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald.

Hide Comments

This affects comments on all stories.

Cancel OK

  • Videos

  • Quick Job Search

Enter Keyword(s) Enter City Select a State Select a Category