Miami Beach hunts for ways to resurrect Roosevelt Theater

Miami Beach commissioners want the city’s administration to reach out to help resurrect the long-shuttered Roosevelt Theater that opened 75 years ago, either for a movie house or some other use that will spur 41st Street activity.

Commissioners have voted unanimously to have a conversation with the property owner of the Roosevelt at 770 Arthur Godfrey Road to determine its future plans.

The item by Commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez originally directed the administration to meet with the property owner to discuss the opportunity for the city to buy the building but it was amended to see how to advance the redevelopment process.

“Anybody who’s been here their entire life understands that prior to having large movie theater conglomerates, every single street, 125th Street, 71st Street, 41st Street, Fifth Street, they all had smaller community movie theaters – Lincoln Road,” said Commissioner Rosen Gonzalez.

“We’re losing, obviously, AMC,” she said. “I know that there’s a proposal to build housing on the Roosevelt site, and what I would like us to do is direct the administration to sit down – because we will have no community theater, nothing – and talk to the owner of this property and ask him what is it that he needs in order for us to potentially purchase it…”

41st Street needs something, said Commissioner Rosen Gonzalez, and this is an opportunity to at least explore purchasing the theater.

The now-closed Roosevelt Theater opened in December 1949 with “Battleground” featuring Van Johnson, John Hodiak, Ricardo Montalban and George Murphy. The city two years ago looked at the site’s development potential, but nothing happened.

Commissioner Alex Fernandez said he is concerned by a property that is not well-maintained, “property that is not activated, especially … property that is … architecturally significant like this. This is a post-war medieval building from the 1940s. It’s a gem of 41st Street, and it’s been left to deteriorate there, and we’ve seen other properties in our city like that. It should be incumbent on the property owner to activate that space, and when they don’t activate the space… I think it sets a bad precedent when the city then says ‘well, we’ll come in and we’ll look to buy the property’.”

He said he didn’t want to create a scenario in which an individual who may have the opportunity to activate a property holds off in hopes of the city buying it.

“There is a master plan underway for 41st Street,” said Mr. Fernandez. “There are a lot of conversations going on at 41st Street. The owner of the Roosevelt Theater came in and met with me. They have a vision for the theater that doesn’t involve having to invest the taxpayers’ dollars in purchasing that property.”

If there is money to invest in property, Commissioner Fernandez said, he believes it should first be invested in better up keeping property the city already has in its inventory, “and really place the onus on this private property owner to activate it, and if they need anything from us, any sort of incentive, allow them to come forward and discuss that.”

Commissioner Joseph Magazine took a similar stance.

“My just philosophical view is: government isn’t always the answer,” he said, “but I think we can be there to help facilitate the process.”

Mr. Magazine suggested developing a vision of what the city would like to see and asking the property owner how the city can help instead of asking the owner how the city can buy the theater and then figuring out what to do with it.

“I am all for trying to push this forward,” said Commissioner Magazine. “I just get hesitant. There’s some things government does good, some things government philosophically does not. And buying and then renovating, operating a property is, in my view, one of the things that we likely don’t do very well.”

Ms. Rosen Gonzalez asked whether the administration should meet with the property owners “and negotiate what plans they do have for the Roosevelt Theater and see what their intent is so that we don’t just leave it lying fallow with no plan over the next five to 10 years?”

Were it up to her, she said, she would buy the Roosevelt and lease it to a theater operating company, “somebody who has experience and they’re going to have to invest some money in it…. “We could at least, if we owned it, offer them some sort of affordable rent for the first couple of years. I think 41st Street needs something, it needs a draw and there’s nothing.”

The owner of the theater building requested letters of interest, said Mayor Steven Meiner. “It was a mixed-use project. Building retail on the ground, apartments – I believe – municipal garage to make up for the spaces, but it’s a heavy lift. It requires commission approval. It requires a voter referendum, and it needs a lot of work.”

A significant amount would be needed to get something going at the site, said Mayor Meiner. The whole complex was repainted and it looks better. “I think it’s worthy of a conversation and try to get the ball rolling, because it’s been over 30-plus years and, you’re right, 41st [Street] needs some loving.”

Commissioner Rosen Gonzalez also suggested adding the potential to know what the price point is if the owner decided to sell it.

Mayor Meiner said he had no problem putting anything on the table to discuss. However, he agreed with Commissioner Magazine.

“That is high-priced property and I don’t believe government is the best property owner, the best use of our resources,” said Mayor Meiner.

Commissioner Magazine cited Miami Mayor Francis Suarez’s action during the pandemic “when Miami became the epicenter of the world. It was as simple as Mayor Suarez putting a billboard saying ‘How can we help?’ and I think that’s the conversation that we want to do here is go to the property owner and say, ‘this is needed for rejuvenation. How can we help?’ That’s what government should be doing – not buying it but how can we help? What do you need from us? We want to be your partner here to make something work.”

“If you want to do that about 100 times across the city,” Mr. Magazine said, “I’d support you in each one of those.”