House divided: Church member seeks to derail First Miami Presbyterian’s condo deal
A member of the First Miami Presbyterian Church has filed a complaint disputing the legitimacy of the recent vote approving the sale of church land for an 80-story condo project in Brickell and seeking to have it nullified, according to a source.
Cary Tolley filed the complaint Monday with the Presbyterian Synod of South Atlantic, which is part of the denomination’s national body, the Presbyterian Church Office of General Assembly. The Synod will decide the merits of the complaint.
In his 20-page complaint, which was obtained by the Miami Herald, Tolley outlined three goals: First, to pause negotiations between First Miami and the project’s developers. Second, that the Synod nullify the vote that he argues was improperly conducted. And third, that First Miami be allowed to manage itself and oversee matters like a vote through its own “session,” an elected body of local members.
Among other things, Tolley opposed the vote being conducted by Zoom and argued that it should not have been administered by Rev. Dr. Christopher Benek, a church leader, but instead by a small group of elected church leaders.
“Obviously, the topic of the Motion is one of serious magnitude to FMPC [First Miami Presbyterian Church] and its members and needs to be duly considered by a duly elected session and session moderator who report to the congregation, via duly elected session,” Tolley said in the complaint.
First Miami Presbyterian informed members in early October of a proposal it had received from a development firm for an 80-story condo project on a 2.2-acre waterfront site behind the historically designated church at 609 Brickell Ave. The condominium would replace the surface parking lot, where food trucks are located, fellowship hall and Key Point Christian Academy.
The church would gain $240 million from the sale in cash and value, according to a presentation slide shared with the Herald.
The condo proposal has divided worshipers, parents with kids in the Christian Academy and locals in the Brickell neighborhood. In the vote, conducted on Zoom on Sunday, Oct. 17, 68 members voted in favor of the plan while 42 opposed.
Tolley declined to comment. The Synod of South Atlantic Presbyterian Church did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Benek did not address the merits of the complaint in an email and said only, “First Miami Presbyterian Church made the historic decision to partner with 13th Floor, Key International and [architecture firm] Sieger Suarez on an iconic project that will provide our congregation with state of the art facilities and limitless opportunities to enhance our 125 year history of caring for our community.”
This story was originally published October 27, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
