FIU & Miami-Dade County Lease Coconut Grove Playhouse From Fla.
COCONUT GROVE (CBSMiami) -- Florida International University and Miami-Dade County have leased the Coconut Grove Playhouse from the state of Florida in a move to help renew the site.
The 50-year lease agreement allows the county and FIU to move ahead with plans to return great theater to Coconut Grove.
The county and FIU met the State's January 15, 2014 deadline to demonstrate that encumbrances affecting the property's title have been addressed, which was a prerequisite to the commencement of the lease. County workers, FIU and the City of Miami were able to reduce encumbrances on the property from approximately $3.5 million to less than $120,000, which will be paid for by revenue from the site's parking operations.
"This is real progress in advancing Miami-Dade County as a global center for culture and commerce. Now we can get started on the work to ensure that this important site is reactivated in order to present great theater experiences for families and children throughout South Florida," said Carlos A. Gimenez, Mayor of Miami-Dade County.
The Florida Cabinet approved the County-FIU business plan for the Playhouse in August of 2013.
This is an exciting development for our students and faculty," said Brian Schriner, Dean of the FIU College of Architecture + The Arts. "We look forward to collaborating with GableStage, a world-class regional theater company, to develop programs that provide superb educational experiences, ranging from student internships to university-sponsored performances and community activities."
