First Miami Presbyterian wins massive cut in tax bill ahead of lucrative condo deal
The $6.5 million tax bill that First Miami Presbyterian Church was hit with in 2018 has been slashed to $807,000 after state law on the issue was clarified this summer, according to a lawyer familiar with the case.
News of the whopping reduction in the church’s tax bill comes as members voted Sunday in favor of a potentially lucrative deal to sell some of its land for one of the tallest condos in Miami. Although Rev. Dr. Christopher Benek did not discuss immediate next steps after the vote, the church could receive upwards of $240 million, according to the proposal.
The oldest organized congregation in the city, First Miami Presbyterian runs a K-8 religious school, Key Point Christian Academy, and uses its parking lot space for food trucks. The church, located at 609 Brickell Ave., had the multimillion-dollar lien filed against it, including interest and penalties, for the years 2009 to 2017, according to the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser.
As a religious center, the church is exempt from paying taxes, but the county property appraiser claimed the church’s for-profit school and the food trucks were not entitled to a religious exemption.
The state Legislature recognized that the property appraiser misinterpreted a Florida statute and made a clarification in July stating property owned by a religious site and used by a K-8 school is exempt from taxes, the lawyer familiar with the case told the Herald. Despite this, the church still owes an $807,632 tax lien for operating food trucks on its waterfront parking lot and intends to settle the remaining lien with the county before the case goes to trial, which is currently scheduled for March 2022, the lawyer said.
The clarification in state law assisted struggling churches that do not receive sufficient dues from members and rely on leasing their property to fund church-related functions, the lawyer said. “They couldn’t survive without these leases, and if they were going to be taxable, the leases, it was going to kill the churches,” added the lawyer.
Prior to the vote last weekend on the land deal for the 80-story condo, some Brickell employees and residents expressed concern about increased traffic and diminution to one of the last green spaces in the areas. Key Point Academy parents also worried about the loss of community and the stress of transferring their children to another school.
The church informed parents, in an email, that it had the best interest of the school’s children and their families at heart and that it plans to honor the church and school’s three-year contract.
This story was originally published October 19, 2021 at 1:54 PM.