MIAMI NOVEMBER 9, 2015, nhr.com– Churches are temples dedicated to public worship, each building with that function is given the same denomination of assembly or gathering of faithful who visit them; from an architectural point of view, there are many churches, but apparently not in the municipality of Bal Harbour, where the oldest church in Miami Beach that wants to be designated a historic building, is about to be demolished, driven by a wave of great development and create real chaos through central Collins Avenue.
Church by the Sea built 65 years ago has sufficient time built to be designated historic, parishioners and neighbors of the area have asked the Board of County Historic Preservation for this designation, but the panel is divided, during the meeting of October their members voted 4-4 and the theme of the historical church was not discussed.
The congregation decided three years ago, unbeknownst to his faithful, to sell the church to the owners Bal Harbour Mall to pursue expansion plans of its stores and are now doing everything possible to eliminate such designation and have sued the county and city itself because they ordered to stop the demolition that began last week.
Last week a demolition squad began to move windows and asbestos in the building, without proper permits, which the City of Bal Harbour immediately ordered to suspend, although they were later granted permission.
Now church members and neighbors of the city, filed a lawsuit against the city, the Mall of Bal Harbour and the Whitman family owned stores Thursday.
According to statements sent from members of the neighborhood association and friends of Church by the Sea, “the action taken by the owners of the shopping center, to start the demolition of the church:
- VIOLATING the Village’s regulations by seeking a permit 48 hours after starting demolition;
- DESTROYING the historical character of the Church by removing the unique architectural characteristics of the building (stained glass)
- DENYING the opportunity for the Miami-Dade County Historic Preservation Board to designate the Church as historic; •
- IGNORING and attempting to bypass the historic designation process; and •
- DISRESPECTING our community with their lack of transparency and stealthy actions.
“We cannot let them get away with this,” says the note sent to neighbors and parishioners, and added, “We must take steps to stop this immediately. We ask all our people to contact our elected officials, administrator Jorge Gonzalez as soon as possible to express our opposition to these types of underhanded tactics “.
Preserving the Church as a historical building is something important for the residents of Bal Harbour, 65 years after being built and the history that has passed through “The Church by the Sea” is a matter of respect for those who constructed it beginning years ago.
