Amid teardown trend, Miamian commits to preserving gems of Coral Gables’ history
Visitors drive by history when passing through Coral Gables’ MacFarlane Homestead Historic District. The cottages dotting the streets tucked along U.S. 1 bordering the West Grove once housed Bahamian natives whose ancestors built the Gables and adjacent Coconut Grove.
At a time when the rich history of the West Grove — recently renamed Little Bahamas — is being bulldozed by developers rebuilding modern, expensive houses, one Miami transplant acquired four cottages in the area with the sole purpose of restoring and preserving local Black history.
Fabio Riberio acquired the 1938 cottages at 4614 Brooker St. in July from Greater St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church, one of the oldest Grove churches dating to the 1890s. After dropping $789,400 in cash, Riberio became the owner of the railroad-style houses. Like a railroad car, these 700-square-foot residences have a narrow corridor that runs from the front door, past the living quarters on the left side — a living room, then two bedrooms and finally a bathroom — and lead to a kitchen in the back of the house.
Having survived some of South Florida’s worst natural disasters like Hurricane Andrew in 1992, the houses remain standing — with termite damage, deteriorating roofs and blistered pillars posted on concrete porches. Where some might see a money pit, Riberio deems the cottages’ restoration his legacy project.
“Miami lacks some history,” said the investment manager. “Everything we have we’re losing very fast. The city is doing its best, but you can’t do anything alone.”
The cottages sit in the MacFarlane district, a triangular-shaped land area acquired by George Merrick, founder of the Gables, in 1925 as a segregated neighborhood for Black workers. The district has had its share of tugs of war over proposed developments over the years, including most recently a failed Wawa gas station.
Riberio plans to meet with city officials later this month to discuss his renovation plans for the four old homes. He estimated it’ll cost him $800,000 to fully restore the houses. Once he completes the work, Riberio hopes to retain the one remaining tenant and find renters for the other three cottages, saving one house for an artist in residence.
Riberio, founder and manager of the Neptuno Fund, grew up in Brazil. He’s lived in Coconut Grove since 2015. He spends most of his days working from home and shuffling his two children to activities. That’s why he credited chance with having spotted the four cottages several months ago, when going to visit the Trader Joe’s market at Gables Station for the first time.
“When I saw these four houses, I thought they were so cute,” he said. “I bought into the idea of preserving the historical value of this.”
The church’s fight
Restoration and preservation has been a long-held dream of the cottages’ prior owner, Greater St. Paul A.M.E. Church, said pastor Rev. Nathaniel Robinson III. Established in 1896, the church has a long history in the community, including having opened the first school for Blacks. Today, Robinson said, it has over 300 members that meet at its new location built in 1994 on Thomas Avenue.
Seeing an exodus of West Grove residents, church members told Robinson when he arrived in December 2017 that they aspired to rent the cottages to residents who needed affordable housing.
“West Coconut Grove is being gentrified. It’s not being changed for the better. Outside owners and developers are coming into West Coconut Grove and they are finding ways to acquire properties and people are being displaced,” Robinson said. “It’s important to us to maintain affordable housing.”
The church acquired the railroad-style houses for $1.67 million in 2002 from the Blumenthal family. Max Blumenthal bought the cottages and other buildings starting in the 1930s. The family members dropped most of their real estate portfolio in the area in 2001, after being sued by a tenant who alleged getting lead poisoning from living in one of their homes.
The church stepped in and bought the four cottages. It has faced an uphill battle to restore them, lacking the money to meet all of the restoration requirements by the city. Robinson said his congregation also struggled to work through the city’s bureaucracy. Church members, therefore, voted in favor of selling the cottages.
“We didn’t want to see them go, but we didn’t want to see them deteriorate any further. We thought we did what was best for those homes,” the church leader said. “It’s a bittersweet moment. It’s like when a parent loves their child so much, but knows they can’t offer that child what they need and they give them to someone who can give that child a better life.”
‘Sell me the property’
Vince Lago, mayor of Coral Gables, said he knew it would be tough for the church to restore and maintain the four old houses. Having an engineering background, Lago said he was familiar with the necessary restoration process for these historic structures. He said it would take between $1 million and $2.5 million to do it. Lago said he’s long had a vision to convert all four of them into residences for artists, build a boutique building nearby on a vacant lot and invite the community to engage with the artists on a routine basis. For eight years, he said he tried to persuade the church to sell him the cottages.
The cottages “are critically important, because the individuals that lived in these buildings — George Merrick could have had a vision — but without these individuals Coral Gables wouldn’t exist,” the mayor said.
The city expects any owner to abide by the strict restoration process, and Lago said he couldn’t allow the church to just put a new coat of paint on the homes. He said he told church leaders “sell me the property. I’ll fix it up. We’ll be good stewards. I promise you.”
The church refused every time, determined to keep the cottages for affordable housing. They had rejected Lago’s overtures and the two or three weekly calls from developers and investors. Then Kathrin Rein came along.
Promise of preservation
In February, Rein, a real estate agent with Keller Williams Realty in Coconut Grove, contacted the church on behalf of Riberio. At first, the church told the real estate agent they refused to even discuss selling the cottages. Rein persisted. She had worked with Riberio for five years and knew her client wanted to preserve these homes. After months of persistence and negotiations, Riberio won over the church’s congregation.
“A lot of people think that when it comes to negotiations all that counts is the highest price. Number one is the price. Number two is the terms. One of those two needs to be strong,” Rein said, noting for the church the terms were more important than the money.
The church’s demands included keeping the last remaining tenant 69-year-old Charles Cratit. He has lived in his home since he was only a year old.
“We got along well,” Cratit said. “We didn’t have much, but as long as we had a roof over our heads and food, we somehow managed.”
Life kept Cratit in the cottage. After his father died in 1978, Cratit said he stayed to care for his mother. His salary as a law librarian at the Miami-Dade County Courthouse kept them both afloat. Soon after, Cratit faced another death in the family — one of his sisters died and left her son in his care. Wanting to provide stability and roots for his nephew, Cratit said he stayed in place. Today, he splits his time between his “man cave” and his girlfriend’s apartment.
Cratit has embraced Riberio’s plan, including allowing him to stay in place and pay the same rent the church charged him: $650 a month.
Fond memories
Others in the community share in the excitement of the upcoming restoration of these homes that are important to their legacy.
Reinaldo Rose has lived in Coconut Grove for 40 years, the past few in an apartment across the street from the cottages. The 69-year-old veteran and Panama native recalled the families and even an artist who resided in these homes. Neith Nevelson used to sell her artwork of horses, female nudes and men’s faces from her porch.
After years of sitting in a state of flux, Rose, a contractor, said he hopes to see the restoration and new tenants soon.
“He got him a gold mine there,” Rose said of Riberio. “All he has to do now is plant the seed, water the grass and watch the ground grow.”
This story was originally published September 11, 2022 at 4:30 AM.
