City Watch > Coconut Grove May 2005

The Curtain’s Not Dropping ...Yet

The Coconut Grove playhouse faces hard decisions on reconstruction

a structure that several experts say would be cheaper to tear down and rebuild than renovate.

“She is deteriorating incredibly fast,” Less says. “She was made with sea sand and limestone, which is what they did back then in the 1920s, but you wouldn’t do it that way today. That construction doesn’t hold in this climate.” Less says that all options are still being evaluated. “Everyone’s heart is with the existing building,” he says.

An announcement as to what’s next for the beloved building, including the developer the playhouse committee picks for the job, could come as early as this month. Less is determined to have“her” survive as intact as possible. “If we did – and I am not saying we will – do reconstruction, we would try to save the façade and other parts of the building,” Less says. “We want something that fits the motif of Coconut Grove, not a 30-story condo or a Home Depot.” According to Less, the plans will include the playhouse, expanded parking and a third component, which will be revealed during the announcement, that complements the project.

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