Vacant hospital building in Miami Gardens being demolished after two decades empty
An 11-story former hospital that has been vacant in Miami Gardens for more than 20 years, and considered an eyesore, is being demolished and a convention center with a hotel and wedding venue are now planned for that site.
“As we speak, we’re pushing full throttle,” developer Aaron Haimov told the Miami Herald of the demolition process. “We really believe in the project. This is definitely needed in the Miami area, and it’s going to be a destination venue.”
The planned development is for the site of the former Parkway Medical Center West on Northwest 7th Avenue near the Palmetto Expressway at the Golden Glades Interchange.
Haimov is president of family-owned and Miami-based development and real estate company The Haimov Group, which purchased the property for $11 million from previous owners BSD of Miami Gardens, LLC, in February 2022, according to Miami-Dade County property records.
The building was constructed in 1972 and opened in 1974 as Parkway Regional West with 307 beds, the Miami Herald previously reported. It closed in 2002. The property sits a few miles southeast of Hard Rock Stadium and the Miami International Autodrome.
“This building has been blight to our community for a long, long time. And it’s the first thing you see when you come into the community from the Turnpike off of I-95,” Miami Gardens Mayor Rodney Harris told the Herald after a press conference announcing the demolition process. “So we want to build something that’s going to be a lasting beacon of hope, a beacon of innovation, and something that people in the community can really be proud of.”
Harris said the new plans would attract business to Miami Gardens and bring jobs to residents. “We’re moving in the right direction to bring hotels, and we can keep some of the economic impact that we have coming into our city.”
Haimov said he wants to build “something beautiful that Miami has never seen,” but noted the company is still working on the design. New York-based architecture firm Bluarch Architecture will design the 500,000-square-foot space.
Haimov said he hopes a groundbreaking ceremony will be held in six months. He said the nearly $200 million project will consist of a two- to three-story convention site, a 20-story hotel and a wedding venue — the latter was an idea that arose from a family event.
“One of our brothers was getting married, and it was very, very hard to find the right hall that will fit between 500 to 600 guests comfortably, and something beautiful where they don’t charge an arm and a leg,” he said. “We went to this wedding hall in the New Jersey area and we loved it. We loved the concept.”
Haimov said a demolition method known as “chipping” will be used rather than imploding the property, adding that it’s a safer alternative given where the property is located.
“When you implode, obviously you know you put TNT in the middle of the building, and it comes down,” Haimov said. “The problem is the debris and the smoke and it starts to fog up the entire area. And since it’s an intersection, God forbid, someone gets into an accident. We didn’t want to go through that and there’s a school nearby. We don’t want to have the debris hit anyone or any glass.”
Representatives with BG Group Demolition estimated the entire process, including debris cleanup, would take about four months to complete. They’ve already cleared two ramps that were on the property and removed asbestos inside the building.
“We’ve been waiting for this project to happen as most of you likely have for much of our 20-year history,” said BG Group Vice President Alec Greenberg during the press conference. “We drive by the structure a lot. And we’re very excited to be presenting you with a cleared plot of land in the very near future.”
Miami-Dade Commission Chairman Oliver Gilbert, a former Miami Gardens mayor, recalled when he was younger the building was well-kept. “It was never like this,” he told the Herald. “It never had the graffiti, it was never torn down. So I’ve seen this spot transform into places where people would sneak into to do illegal criminal activity. People would write antisemitic and racial things on buildings.”
“So, we had to actually have people come and get rid of that stuff,” he said, adding it didn’t represent the inclusive community he and others were trying to build in Miami Gardens. “I understand the potential of the area, but I also understand what it’s been throughout the years. We’re trying to build a progressive community. So I’m very happy to see the spot transition.”
This story was originally published February 28, 2023 at 3:01 PM.
