Downtown Miami

Miami Woman’s Club approves deal to lease historic clubhouse

By David Smiley

dsmiley@MiamiHerald.com
The Miami Woman’s Club headquarters (in background) may be leased for 90 years to a real estate investment company. The building, on the National Register of Historic Places, needs millions of dollars in renovations in order to be opened for use.
The Miami Woman’s Club headquarters (in background) may be leased for 90 years to a real estate investment company. The building, on the National Register of Historic Places, needs millions of dollars in renovations in order to be opened for use. David Smiley Miami Herald

The Miami Woman’s Club approved a 90-year lease Wednesday evening with a real estate investment group that club leaders hope will finally restore their historic clubhouse.

According to club consultant Edgar Jones, members of the club voted “overwhelmingly” in favor of the agreement with the Heafey Group, which plans to sublease space to a high-end restaurant. Jones said Heafey has already signed the lease.

In return for taking control of the building, Heafey is finishing some $8 million in renovation work that began years ago with a $3.7 million grant from a city agency but was never completed, leaving the clubhouse an empty shell.

Heafey also issued the club a loan to pay for a $350,000 judgment granted to a contractor who was hired to conduct previous renovation work to the club’s historic headquarters at 1737 N. Bayshore Dr.

This story was originally published June 24, 2015 at 8:44 PM with the headline "Miami Woman’s Club approves deal to lease historic clubhouse."

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