Demolition Begins At Coconut Grove Bank

August 22, 2017 in Coconut Grove, Demolition, Golden Dusk Photography, Miami, Moriarty, Park Grove, Terra Group

As the towers of Park Grove - Two Park Grove and the Club Residences - become closer to completion, the next tower, One Park Grove is will start construction soon with the demolition of the old Coconut Grove Bank.

Built in 1959, the six story Coconut Grove Bank has been replaced by a new building in front of it and renamed Grove Bank & Trust. The new Grove Bank & Trust was completed at the end of March and the pool deck of Park Grove is located on the roof.

Previous photos of the Coconut Grove Bank can be viewed here.

Office in the Grove To Have Hearing For Historic Designation

August 18, 2017 in Architecture, Coconut Grove, Miami, Mast Capital, Office Building, Office in the Grove

In October 2016, a demolition permit was filed for the Office in the Grove located at 2669 S. Bayshore Drive in Coconut Grove, which was purchased by Mast Capital in April 2014 for $29.5 million.

The nine story hexagon office tower was built in 1972 and was designed by architect Kenneth Treister who also designed the Shoppes at Mayfair in Coconut Grove. The Office in the Grove has a landscape berm, which was meant to hide the parking and have the first three floors open.

The non-profit group Docomomo / US Florida applied to the City of Miami Historic and Environmental Preservation Board to declare the building historic and prevent it from demolition. The date is set for Tuesday, September 5th. Hearing starts at 3 p.m. at Miami City Hall, 3500 Pan American Dr., Miami, FL 33133.

The Big Bubble has photos of inside the building before it was renovated.

Coconut Grove 4K (Video)

July 20, 2017 in Coconut Grove, Miami, Video

Demolition Underway At 3480 Main Highway

July 12, 2017 in Arquitectonica, Coconut Grove, Demolition, Miami, Office Building

Demolition has started on two buildings located at 3480 Main Highway in Coconut Grove.

The two buildings being demolished were built in 1937 and 2010. Plans are to build a five story class A office building with a rooftop restaurant. The site is located next to the abandoned Coconut Grove Playhouse.

The properties were purchased by Optimum Development USA in 2014 for $8.5 million. Optimum Development USA also purchased the Starlite Motel in Brickell for $25 million in 2014.

The Harbour In Coconut Grove To Begin Construction In July

June 23, 2017 in Coconut Grove, Miami, Grove Bay Hospitality, Regatta Harbour

Construction on The Harbour in Coconut Grove is expected to start next month in July, according to Miami Today.

The Harbour will have two restaurants, entertainment event space, marina with 400 boat slips and a public baywalk. A new two story parking garage with 333 spaces will be built, which site work has already started.

The site is currently home to the restaurant Scotty's Landing (Grove Bay Grill) and The Chart House which closed in November 2015. Those two buildings will be demolished soon and replaced with The Harbour.

The Harbour was approved by voters in a 2013 referendum and was supposed to begin construction at the end of 2015, but was held up by litigation.

New Renderings For The Redesigned Cocowalk

May 19, 2017 in Coconut Grove, Miami, One Cocowalk, Cocowalk

In February, plans were shown of the new redesigned Cocowalk and now more renderings and information has been revealed by the Miami Herald.

Opened in 1990, the Cocowalk Mall will have a major overhaul of the three story space with 198,000 square feet of retail.

Designed by Beame Architectural Partnership and Foreseer, the West portion of Cocowalk will have the YouFit gym and Cinepolis Theater staying, but the Cheesecake Factory will be gone when its lease is up at the end of May.

The main rotunda at the center of Cocowalk with a Fat Tuesday and Tervis will be demolished and replaced with an open courtyard with outdoor seating. The Starbucks will be moving into the former Coldwell Banker space across the street later this Summer. The change are expected to be completed by mid-2018 after starting work this Summer.

Also announced in March was One Cocowalk, which will be a 73,000 square feet of Class A office space on the East portion of Cocowalk. Construction on One Cocowalk will start in 2018.

Inside The Abandoned Coconut Grove Playhouse - Photos & Video

May 01, 2017 in Coconut Grove Playhouse, Abandoned, Coconut Grove, Golden Dusk Photography, Miami, Video

Built in 1926, and located at the corner of Main Highway and Charles Street, The Coconut Grove Playhouse opened 90 years ago on January 1, 1927, with a D.W. Griffith production of Satan of Sorrows that was attended by over 1,500 people. The building was originally named the Coconut Grove Theatre.

The Coconut Grove Theatre was built by Miami locals Irving J. Thomas and Fin L. Pierce as movie theater for the Paramount Enterprises Chain and the largest in Miami. The theater was designed by architect Richard Kiehnel of Kiehnel and Elliot to resemble a Spanish Rococo Palace in the style of Mediterranean Revival. The building originally had seven stores on the ground level, ten offices on the second floor and the third floor were apartments. It had the latest Wurlitzer pipe organ and had a very modern amenity at the time - air conditioning.

Before the theater opened, Irving J. Thomas and Fin L. Pierce sold the building to Paramount Enterprises and the theater thrived until the Great Depression of the 1930s hit and attendance dropped significantly. The Coconut Grove Theatre eventually closed in the mid-1930s until it was used to train Air Force Navigators during World War II.