The nonprofit Preserve the West Grove and 18 residents filed a petition in Miami-Dade Circuit Court on August 27 challenging the Miami City Commission’s unanimous July 9 approval of Miami-Dade County’s $59 million plan to rebuild the Coconut Grove Playhouse. The petitioners argue the county failed to submit required ownership documents during the zoning process, and they are asking a panel of judges to overturn the commission’s decision and force the project back through the city’s review process from the beginning.
Key Takeaways
- Preserve the West Grove and 18 nearby residents filed a petition in Miami-Dade Circuit Court on August 27, challenging the city commission’s July 9 approval of the Coconut Grove Playhouse redevelopment.
- The $59 million county plan would restore the playhouse’s 1926 façade, construct a new 310-seat theater, and add retail, food and beverage, office space, and a 289-space parking garage.
- Petitioners argue Miami-Dade County never submitted an Authorization to Act or a notarized Hold Harmless Agreement from the state of Florida, which owns the property.
- The city’s Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board rejected the plan in May before the county won on appeal at the commission level in July.
- The playhouse has been closed since 2006 and is leased by the state to Miami-Dade County; the rear auditorium was demolished in 2025.
The Petition Centers on Missing Ownership Documents in the County’s Zoning Application
The legal challenge is procedural rather than philosophical. The petitioners are not arguing that the Coconut Grove Playhouse should remain vacant or that no redevelopment should occur. Their claim is that Miami-Dade County, as the applicant seeking zoning waivers, failed to provide documents that the City of Miami requires when an applicant does not own the property in question.
The Coconut Grove Playhouse at 3498-3500 Main Highway is owned by the state of Florida and has been leased to Miami-Dade County since 2014. Under the city’s zoning application rules, when an applicant is not the property owner, the filing must include an Authorization to Act and a notarized Hold Harmless Agreement from the actual owner. The petition argues that these documents were never submitted by the county during the process that led to the commission’s July vote.
David Winker, the attorney representing the residents, described the core of the complaint in direct terms after filing the petition. Winker said many of the petitioners’ concerns can be summarized as the city disregarding its own procedural requirements. Winker added that the approval should be undone and the county should restart the process correctly so the outcome can be evaluated on proper procedural footing.
The $59 Million Plan Adds Commercial and Office Space Alongside the Restored Theater
Miami-Dade County’s redevelopment plan goes well beyond restoring a shuttered performance venue. The approved scope includes restoring the playhouse’s original 1926 façade along Main Highway, constructing a new 310-seat theater behind it, and building out a campus of supporting commercial uses connected by an open-air pedestrian plaza. The plaza would link the playhouse site to Charles Avenue and the historically Black West Coconut Grove neighborhood, known locally as Little Bahamas.
The development program approved by the commission includes 2,600 square feet of retail space, 3,800 square feet of food-and-beverage space, 28,000 square feet of offices, 2,600 square feet of educational space, and a 289-space parking garage on an adjacent parcel. The county received five zoning exceptions and four waivers from the commission to proceed with the plan. The architecture firm Arquitectonica designed the campus layout.
For supporters, the commercial components are what make the project financially sustainable. A 310-seat theater on its own does not generate enough revenue to justify a $59 million public investment, and the retail, dining, and office tenants would provide the ongoing income stream needed to maintain the campus. For opponents, those same commercial elements represent an unwanted intrusion of traffic, density, and commercial activity into a residential neighborhood whose Bahamian heritage and bohemian identity have already been under pressure from development along the Coconut Grove waterfront and Main Highway corridor.
The Planning Board Rejected the Plan Before the Commission Overruled It
The commission’s July 9 vote was not the first time the county’s plan came before the city. In May, the Miami Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board rejected the redevelopment after hours of public testimony from West Grove residents who objected to the scope of commercial activity and the absence of a physical barrier between the development and the residential streets behind it. Preserve the West Grove, which represents homeowners living within 500 feet of the playhouse on Charles, William, and Thomas avenues, argued that the open-air plaza design would funnel foot traffic and delivery vehicles directly into their neighborhood.
The county appealed the planning board’s rejection to the full city commission and prevailed with a unanimous vote on July 9. Miami District 2 Commissioner Damian Pardo had organized a meeting between critics and county officials in advance of the commission hearing in an effort to broker compromises on traffic, neighborhood protections, and preservation of the West Grove’s cultural character. Residents attended the meeting but were largely unpersuaded by the county’s proposed concessions. Gloriana Calhoun, a West Grove resident, told county officials at the meeting that the adjustments amounted to putting band-aids on a flawed project.
The Playhouse Has Been Closed for Two Decades and the Rear Auditorium Was Already Demolished
The Coconut Grove Playhouse opened in 1926 as a movie palace and later became one of South Florida’s most prominent live theater venues, staging the U.S. premiere of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot in 1956. The theater shut down in 2006 when its operating nonprofit filed for bankruptcy, and the building has sat vacant for nearly 20 years. The state of Florida acquired the property and leased it to Miami-Dade County in 2014 with the intent of facilitating a restoration.
Efforts to redevelop the site have been stalled by competing preservation, development, and neighborhood priorities for more than a decade. The county demolished the playhouse’s rear auditorium in 2025 over stiff resistance from local preservationists, a move that cleared the physical footprint for the new 310-seat theater but deepened distrust among residents who felt the demolition was pushed through without adequate community input. The playhouse’s front façade along Main Highway remains standing and is the portion of the building that the county’s plan would restore.
The circuit court petition now adds another layer of delay to a project that has already spent years moving between planning boards, commission chambers, and courtrooms. Whether the court sides with the petitioners on the procedural question or allows the commission’s approval to stand, the case underscores a recurring tension in Miami’s development landscape: the gap between a project’s civic ambitions and the neighborhood’s tolerance for what comes with it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Are the West Grove Residents Asking the Court to Do?
The petitioners are asking a panel of Miami-Dade Circuit Court judges to overturn the Miami City Commission’s July 9 approval of the Coconut Grove Playhouse redevelopment. They argue the county failed to submit required ownership documents during the zoning application process and want the project sent back through the city’s review from the beginning.
Who Owns the Coconut Grove Playhouse?
The playhouse property is owned by the state of Florida. Miami-Dade County has leased the site since 2014 and is the entity proposing the $59 million redevelopment. The petitioners argue the county needed an Authorization to Act and a Hold Harmless Agreement from the state as part of its zoning application, and that these documents were never filed.
What Would the Redevelopment Include?
The approved plan restores the playhouse’s 1926 façade, builds a new 310-seat theater, and adds an open-air plaza, 2,600 square feet of retail, 3,800 square feet of food and beverage space, 28,000 square feet of offices, 2,600 square feet of educational space, and a 289-space parking garage.
How Long Has the Playhouse Been Closed?
The Coconut Grove Playhouse has been closed since 2006, when its operating nonprofit filed for bankruptcy. The building has been vacant for nearly 20 years. The rear auditorium was demolished by Miami-Dade County in 2025; the original 1926 front façade remains standing on Main Highway.
