Miami approves sale of historic Olympia Theater to charter school
The Miami City Commission has given final approval for the sale of the downtown Olympia Theater, officially green-lighting a proposal to deed the 1926 venue to a charter school that has pledged to invest tens of millions of dollars into restoring the deteriorating property.
On Thursday, city commissioners voted 5-0 to approve the sale of the Olympia Theater and adjacent 10-story building to a public charter school known as SLAM, which stands for Sports Leadership Arts Management. While the official transaction price is only $10, SLAM will be responsible for a minimum of $57 million in repairs, according to the city, with an estimated $20 million in additional costs to renovate the upper floors.
The city took over management of the building in 2011, and since then, it’s fallen into disrepair. In a statement last week, the city said the cost to repair, including significant work related to the building’s 40-year recertification, “far exceeds the value for the property and unfortunately, is beyond the financial means of the City.”
According to the purchase and sale agreement for the property, SLAM would have five years from the date the initial building permit is issued to complete the restoration requirements “in full compliance.” The property also has to be exclusively used for “public education and civic purposes.” If either of those two conditions aren’t met, the property would revert to the city.
The agreement also stipulates that the school would be required to make the theater available for a minimum of 180 days per year for public events. The events “shall be open and available to the public and shall not include events in which tickets are not sold to the general public,” the agreement states.
Thursday’s vote puts an end to a monthslong saga that began over the summer when the proposal landed on a June meeting agenda without prior public discussion or vetting, generating blowback from residents. In response, the city delayed a planned vote on the proposal and held three public meetings about it in the interim. When it went before the City Commission again in late July, commissioners voted to authorize the city manager to negotiate the sale but stopped short of giving final approval because several key details remain unresolved.
But on Thursday, the City Commission appeared satisfied with the deal.
Commissioner Damian Pardo cautioned against letting the perfect be the enemy of the good.
“I don’t want to see us lose an opportunity,” Pardo said.
Commissioner Joe Carollo said the city was “getting the best of both worlds” with the proposal.
“They’re putting the money to upgrade the whole building, and we can still use, and we’ll still have, the Olympia Theater,” Carollo said.
Not all residents felt the same way.
“Will today go down in Miami history as the day you enabled more of the city’s dysfunctionality or the day you did the right thing?” community activist Elvis Cruz asked the commission Thursday, adding that they had the chance to “be the hero.”
“You should preserve and protect this precious asset,” Cruz added, “instead of seeing it as a liability to be disposed of.”
Resident Sandy Moise said the city was not “any closer to answers or accountability than we were in July.”
“What we are closer to is giving away one of Miami’s greatest public treasures in a backroom deal that does not reflect the will or the best interests of the people,” Moise said. “Don’t discard the Olympia. Discard the officials who neglected and betrayed it.”
Others described the city’s proposal to give away the theater as less than ideal but better than continuing to let it deteriorate.
Resident John Dolson said it was “easy” to be cynical but that “we need solutions, not complaints.”
“The city has shown over and over and over it doesn’t have the will, the manpower or the capability to run a theater,” Dolson said. “It’s a good deal. Make it happen today.”
Republican state Rep. Alex Rizo said Thursday that budget constraints are on the horizon for local governments across Florida as state officials consider eliminating or reducing property taxes and that cultural preservation is “way, way, way down the list” on budgetary priorities compared to major items like healthcare and education. Preserving the Olympia, he said, is a matter of “wants versus needs.”
“I think this is a wonderful opportunity to not only preserve the Olympia but also restore it,” Rizo said.
The proposed agreement with SLAM also includes a resolution to a protracted legal battle between the city and the family of Maurice Gusman, an entrepreneur and philanthropist who gifted the theater to the city in 1975.
Gusman donated the theater under the stipulation that the semi-autonomous Miami Parking Authority would manage the property. But in the early 2010s, the parking authority stepped away from management. By 2018, the city’s code compliance division issued a “repair or demolish” order for the theater following years of neglect.
That prompted the Gusman heirs to reclaim ownership of the property, arguing that a reversion clause in the deed had been triggered when the MPA stepped back from managing the building.
The new agreement stipulates that the Gusman family file a voluntary dismissal of all claims in the lawsuit against the city within 30 days of closing.
Timothy Barket, the Gusman family’s attorney, took aim at the people who criticized the proposal Thursday.
“We want civic use, and we found it, and everybody here should support it,” Barket said. “The Karens that aren’t supporting us need to close their mouth, open their eyes and ears, and look at this deal, and they, too, will be convinced it’s the right thing.”
This story was originally published September 25, 2025 at 6:28 PM.
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