Flagler Street construction could cause problems for crumbling Olympia Theater facade
Contractors overhauling downtown Miami’s Flagler Street will need to address a critical question in the coming months: How do they protect the crumbling facade of the historic Olympia Theater during construction?
The $27 million reconstruction of the street, expected to take about 2 1/2 years, includes replacing underground utility lines and redesigning the street. Work between Biscayne Boulevard and East Second Avenue began May 3.
But once the first phase is complete — contractors hope it will be done in about nine months — work will move to the block anchored by the Olympia, a cultural gem with a fragile facade buttressed by scaffolding.
Brick is crumbling off the sides of the city-owned building facing Southeast Second Avenue and Flagler, where it was built in 1926 as a movie palace before its conversion to a venue for modern films and live performances. Wire mesh holds a section of corner molding in place.
Business boosters and history buffs worry that rumbling construction equipment will make matters worse for the theater, which was refurbished and then donated to the city by philanthropist Maurice Gusman in 1975.
“There are fears that the vibrations from the construction will cause more damage,” Miami Commissioner Manolo Reyes told the Miami Herald on Wednesday. Reyes, who serves as chairman of the tax-funded Downtown Development Authority, gestured upward as he walked under the Olympia’s scaffolding.
“We might have to wrap the building with some sort of protective material to safeguard the facade,” he said.
Reyes had just left a groundbreaking event that featured a litany of politicians, government administrators and businesspeople touting the project. Hector Badia, Miami’s director of capital improvements, said in an interview that he’s discussing strategies to protect the Olympia with the Flagler contractor, Lanzo Construction.
The theater’s freestanding ticket booth on the sidewalk would also have to be relocated during construction.
“We’re going to have to find a solution,” Reyes said. “We’re in conversations right now.”
Flagler business owners hope the street’s makeover won’t just lead the city to protect the theater during construction, but instead jumpstart plans to renovate its facade and establish the venue as a cultural touchstone in a reinvigorated business hub.
The board of the Flagler District Business Improvement District recently passed a resolution urging the city to move forward with rehabilitating the Olympia on a timeline that can coincide with the construction on Flagler Street. Dade Heritage Trust, a preservation organization, has voiced its support for the BID’s objective.
“The time is definitely now,” said Terrell Fritz, the BID’s executive director.
City spokesman John Heffernan said the city’s real estate management department is preparing to seek proposals from developers to renovate the whole building, as well as operate and manage it. Flagler business owners hope the process can move fast so the redesigned street can feature a revamped theater.
“It is critically important to fully activate the Olympia Theater and bring audiences back to the Flagler District, its restaurants, bars and other businesses,” reads the BID’s resolution.
Theater’s future uncertain
The Olympia has faced upheaval, failed redevelopment proposals and legal controversy in recent years.
In 2017, the affordable housing division of the Related Group proposed renovating the theater, demolishing the residential tower above the theater and building up to 300 affordable housing and workforce units. The proposal drew the ire of residents and preservationists, and the developers withdrew their proposal.
City leaders still grappled with who should run the facility. Negotiations to have Miami-Dade College operate the theater ended without an agreement in September 2019 due to the financial challenges of managing the theater and apartments above. The COVID-19 pandemic shuttered live venues across the world, and the nonprofit that managed the Olympia struggled. In March, the city took over management of the venue.
The city’s ownership of the building is being challenged. In December 2019, the Gusman family sued the city to take back control of the theater. They’re arguing the city violated a decades-old agreement that required Miami’s quasi-independent parking authority to manage the property. The lawsuit is pending in Miami-Dade Circuit Court.
This story was originally published May 20, 2021 at 6:10 PM.
