Miami Beach votes to advance fire station project, demolition of community center
Despite calls from preservationists to save Miami Beach’s South Shore Community Center from demolition, city commissioners on Wednesday voted to move forward with the proposed construction of a new South Beach fire station where the center is presently located.
Commissioners voted 6-1 to approve a slew of development waivers for a new, 29,309-square-foot fire station to replace the city’s Fire Station 1, built in 1967 and currently located at 1045 Jefferson Ave. The vote helped clear the way to move the station to the site of the South Shore Community Center at 833 Sixth St. by nearly doubling the lot coverage of the center property, reducing flood-elevation requirements and allowing for large curb cuts to accommodate fire trucks.
The relocation of the fire station is partially funded through the city’s 2018 general obligation bond. Voters agreed to allocate $10 million for the relocation, which is estimated to cost about $18 million.
The need for repairs at the current fire station led a city consultant in 2015 to recommend demolishing and rebuilding it. Its location limits its response time to the Beach’s western islands and the southern end of the city, the city administration has said, adding that it also lacks sufficient parking.
“They deserve to be housed and they deserve to be working out of a facility that is safe itself,” City Manager Alina Hudak said. “That fire station has outlived its useful life. It is obsolete for current and future needs.”
The city-owned community center currently houses a day care and senior center. The two-story building is located in a historic district and was designed by famed architect Morris Lapidus, but is not designated as historic.
City officials said they have considered more than a dozen locations to build a new fire station but only the site of the South Shore Community Center met every requirement for the fire department.
Commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez, who has advocated to stop the demolition of the community center, said the new fire station would be “massive” and incompatible with the character of the neighborhood.
She was the only commissioner to vote against moving the project forward.
“I know we want to ram this through,” she said.
Commissioners also voted Wednesday to direct the city administration to negotiate a lease with Estefan Enterprises for the use of a retail space at 555 Jefferson Ave. to house South Shore Community Center daycare operator Little Havana Activities and Nutrition Centers of Dade County.
Now, the administration will seek further approval from the Historic Preservation Board and City Commission for the demolition of the South Shore Community Center, design plans for the new fire station and a construction budget.
Maria Hernandez, the director of the city’s general obligation bond program, said construction is scheduled to begin in January 2023 and finish in 2024.
In other action, commissioners also voted Wednesday to require that late-night dance halls with a capacity of more than 350 people that feature promoted live entertainment notify police prior to their events.
This story was originally published December 8, 2021 at 8:18 PM.
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