The 80-story condo deal can wait. Brickell church forced to halt talks with developers
The regional governing body of Brickell’s oldest church has ordered it to pause ongoing talks with developers while a complaint is considered, causing a potentially lengthy delay for Miami Presbyterian’s 80-story waterfront condo project.
A member of the First Miami Presbyterian Church filed a formal complaint in October disputing the legitimacy of a vote approving the sale of church land at 609 Brickell Ave. The church voted to sell its waterfront surface parking lot, fellowship hall and building housing an elementary and middle school to 13th Floor Investments and Key International in exchange for a $240 million deal in cash and value.
The Synod of South Atlantic granted the stay in ongoing talks between First Miami and the developers on Saturday, church member Cary Tolley, who filed the complaint seeking to nullify the vote, told the Miami Herald. The church has 45 days to challenge the stay. If it does so, the Synod may rescind its decision and the deal may move forward. But if the stay remains in place, it can table negotiations until Tolley’s complaint is resolved, which could take up to a year, or cancel the condo plans entirely if Tolley wins his request to nullify the vote.
Three Synod members granted the stay, Tolley said, since “there is reason to believe the congregational vote was held invalidly.”
The Synod representatives argued that the church failed to give sufficient notice for the vote and that it overstepped its boundaries by conducting the meeting, which was held on Zoom, according to a copy of the decision shared with the Miami Herald.
Church representative Daris Bultena, First Miami leader Dr. Christopher Benek, 13th Floor Investments and Key International did not respond to a request for comment.
This story was originally published November 17, 2021 at 6:47 AM.
