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Old 01-27-2014, 01:17 AM
 
2,886 posts, read 5,807,232 times
Reputation: 1885

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At first I saw nothing out of the ordinary about the historic preservation designation until I read several articles in the New Times and discovered that there are other unscrupulous reasons why certain well connected people want the church preserved. The Miami City Commissioners voted 4-0 in favor of it despite the church leaders and parishioners opposition and the building being only 66 years old. I have always felt that historic designations are a double edge sword. They do help preserve history and places of significance but it is a power that is too often abused of. In reality the church is being preserved so developers can get the churches air rights and build a 60 story building next to it which the land is currently not zoned for. Is that preservation? Is that fair to the churches property owners or any other property owners that might be faced with a similar situation? In my opinion this is an abuse of powers and I hope the court sides with the church. I wonder what stories and excuses are the people against the church going to make up once they meet their maker.

St. Jude's Historic Preservation Vote Could Be a Smokescreen for Developers - Page 1 - News - Miami - Miami New Times

St. Jude Church's Historic Preservation Could Be Worth Millions to Brickell Developers

St. Jude Church Declared Historic by City Commission, Church Leaders Vow to Appeal
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Old 01-13-2015, 03:28 AM
 
2,886 posts, read 5,807,232 times
Reputation: 1885
Well I am glad the church has won for now. I am all for historic preservation but the intentions are obviously not to protect the church but rather to pave the way for further development around the church. The church was built in the late 40's so it isn't even that old or historical to begin with. The City of Miami's interest in all of this shows that local politicians lie in the pockets of developers. Developers give large political contributions to all of our local politicians in return for favors. It's obvious, we all know this.

Here is a link to the article. Judicial panel quashes historic designation of St. Jude
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Old 01-13-2015, 07:18 AM
 
Location: western East Roman Empire
9,331 posts, read 14,249,190 times
Reputation: 10057
Quote:
Originally Posted by straight shooter View Post

The church was built in the late 40's so it isn't even that old or historical to begin with. [/url]
Even though the year of construction is relatively recent, the exterior and interior architecture are historical and relatively rare in the Americas and, for me at least, it is a joy to see the church every time I ride through Brickell.

Perhaps not relevant to the issues that you raise, but perhaps a point worth observing anyway.


Here's a question for you: what do the parishioners gain by not having the church designated as historical?

Maybe the answer is in one of the articles you cited, but perhaps you can summarize it in an economy of words.

Thanks.
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Old 01-13-2015, 07:25 AM
 
62 posts, read 83,338 times
Reputation: 82
I really don't understand this argument the New Times is making over "air rights" since that would involve building over the top of the church. The fact that the church got historic preservation status prevents it from being sold to a developer and bulldozed. As for the church only being 66 years old you have to take into account that Miami is only 118 years old to begin with.

The 60 story building planned next to the church is called Echo Brickell and it zoned for that height at 637 feet which was reduced from it's original height of 750 feet. The article also states that it would be the tallest residential tower in Miami which it's not. The Panorama tower currently under construction a few blocks away will be Miami's & Florida's tallest building at 83 stories upon completion in 2017.
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Old 01-13-2015, 07:52 AM
 
Location: Heartland Florida
9,324 posts, read 26,700,159 times
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Funny to see that church in a sea of ugliness. If not for religious property tax exemptions there would be more of those ugly QE towers up to the corner.
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Old 01-13-2015, 02:56 PM
 
50 posts, read 60,356 times
Reputation: 36
Quote:
Originally Posted by bale002 View Post
Even though the year of construction is relatively recent, the exterior and interior architecture are historical and relatively rare in the Americas and, for me at least, it is a joy to see the church every time I ride through Brickell.

Perhaps not relevant to the issues that you raise, but perhaps a point worth observing anyway.


Here's a question for you: what do the parishioners gain by not having the church designated as historical?

Maybe the answer is in one of the articles you cited, but perhaps you can summarize it in an economy of words.

Thanks.
Clergy didn't want the "historical status" as taxes are higher and any renovation/construction needs further permits and is more difficult and expensive.
Parishioners were divided between the ones that didn't want more expenses and the ones who wanted it preserved form speculation.
IMHO not "historic", but worth preserving. Taking into account the lack of urban planning and how the Building department is completely sold out to shady real estate investors, anything with a bit of green in the Brickell area should be public interest.
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Old 01-13-2015, 05:06 PM
 
2,886 posts, read 5,807,232 times
Reputation: 1885
At the beginning many parishioners were suckered into signing the petition to declare the church historic. They were told that the church was planning on selling the property which was a blatant lie. After a while they started to find out what was really behind the move to declare the church historic. Today, a large majority of the parishioners are against the historic designation since it was a move that only benefited developers and development around the church and was against the church's interests.
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Old 01-13-2015, 05:27 PM
 
62 posts, read 83,338 times
Reputation: 82
^ Can you please explain how having this church having being declared with a "historic preservation designation" is to the benefit of developers?
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Old 01-13-2015, 05:53 PM
 
2,886 posts, read 5,807,232 times
Reputation: 1885
It is all about the Air Rights, they are very hard to acquire and very valuable. They can be transfered over to another property to allow for a taller building. If the church is declared historic it cannot be demolished or severely altered, meaning that its air rights will not be used. A developer adjacent to the church can build a taller building than the current zoning allows if he can get the air rights from another property. No one is willing to give up their air rights because it would severely devalue their properties value. The church has no plans on building a high rise, but with the historical designation the value of the property severely decreases meaning the church's possibilities of getting a loan are severely limited and the possibility of expanding or altering the church becomes more difficult and costly due to the limitations associated with the historical designation. To a developer those air rights could represent millions of dollars, maybe 20-40 million.

Last edited by straight shooter; 01-13-2015 at 06:05 PM..
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Old 01-13-2015, 08:23 PM
 
62 posts, read 83,338 times
Reputation: 82
^ Ok so can you define "Air rights"? I work in real estate and "Air Rights" pertains to the ability to construct something over a existing property like the church itself. Sort of the like "Air rights" over the Grand Central station in NYC where they built the Met Life building directly above it.
What you are describing has more to do with Zoning laws where a developer can build a 60 story tower next to a 2 story church.
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