Miami Beach continues to explore options to facilitate the resurrection of the Roosevelt Theater.
The long-shuttered theater at 770 Arthur Godfrey Road opened in December 1949 with “Battleground” featuring Van Johnson, John Hodiak, Ricardo Montalban and George Murphy.
“It’s a beautiful property right off the water as you drive down 41st Street,” said Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner. “It used to be a movie theater. It’s been closed for decades, and it would absolutely be extremely helpful in revitalizing the 41st Street corridor if we can get a great retail space in there.”
“The building definitely needs some considerable work,” the mayor said. “There’s an expense involved in that. So that’s why the conversation was had, and why we continue to explore. I’ve spoken to the owner a couple of times as well, and we continue to explore what we could do to help facilitate something really special in that space.”
Mayor Meiner said the building is attached to several other buildings on the block that are all owned by the same owner.
“There’s actually been considerable consolidation of ownership in the properties,” he said. “On 41st there used to be a single building here owned, but now there’s a few concentrated owners that own a large part of the 41st Street buildings on the corridor.
“I think we may have an opportunity to see some revitalization,” he said, “but obviously, it’s in private hands, and we as government, we try to have the conversations. We try to see what would make it feasible for them, and if there’s something we can do from the city standpoint, and we continue to have those conversations, and I’ve had them even very recently with the owner of the Roosevelt.”
Plans to revitalize the whole 41st Street corridor are underway.
Mayor Meiner noted the city has a general obligations bond project that should be starting next year to revitalize the street from the public property standpoint, such as beautifying the streets, improving lighting and widening sidewalks.
“We’re going to be taking out some parking spaces,” he said, “make it more pedestrian friendly, more outdoor seating capability for our restaurants and cafés. That, I think, is going to have a big help and certainly be an attraction to any owners of the properties.
“We also have a 41st Street committee that looks at a lot of different issues, but ultimately it is private property,” he explained. “Again, we can try to incentivize if they come to us with proposals that may require some legislative changes. Obviously, we always look at it, but it’s in private hands, so right now there’s nothing before us, and when I’ve spoken to the owners [of the Roosevelt], I’ve been told they’re exploring opportunities, but I haven’t been told any specific plans for that property.”
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