After months of contentious debate and three public hearings, the City of Miami on July 24 moved a step closer to selling the historic Olympia Theater to a charter school company, SLAM, Sports Leadership and Management.
In a unanimous vote on Thursday, Miami commissioners authorized the city manager to begin negotiations with the non-profit educational institution to finalize the deal.
A final vote to approve the deal is expected in September when commissioners reconvene.
SLAM is seeking to acquire the nearly century-old downtown theater and the adjacent 10-story building for $10, but it has pledged to invest between $30 and $50 million to restore the property. Academica, a global network of public charter schools, is the parent company of SLAM.
The Olympia Theater is in disrepair and faces major maintenance challenges. The building has structural issues, including water damage, deteriorating plaster, and outdated electrical and HVAC systems.
The city, which has owned the theater since 1975, has struggled to maintain it amid limited funding and competing budget priorities.
In 2018, the city’s building department issued a demolition notice citing the theater’s deteriorated condition. Though some repair efforts have been made, the theater remains largely closed to the public except for limited events such as the Miami Film Festival.
The new owners have promised that the theater will remain a venue for cultural programming, while the adjacent tower would be converted into a school. If SLAM fails to follow through, the city could reclaim the property.
Speaking at the last public hearing held last week, City Manager Arthur Noriega said the city lacks the resources to restore the site and described the deal as an “incredible public benefit.”
(Courtesy City of Miami)
Arthur Noriega, Miami City Manager
Critics and some residents, however, have voiced serious concerns about the lack of a competitive bidding process and questioned why the city is rushing to relinquish a landmark property.
Commissioner Joe Carollo, a longtime opponent of the deal, has argued that political dysfunction — not lack of funding — is to blame for the theater’s decline.
The deal would also settle ongoing lawsuits filed by the Gusman family, who donated the theater to the city and still hold the deed to the theater. The family alleges the city failed to uphold its responsibility to maintain the building.
Tim Barkat, the attorney for the Gusman Foundation, said the family supports the sale to SLAM.
“Are we going to leave it in the hands of the city, who has failed year after year after year? No," he said at a public hearing last week.
Public Pushes Back on Olympia Sale
(Courtesy Billy Corben)
Miami filmmaker Billy Coben
In Miami, residents are pushing back against a proposal to hand over the historic Olympia Theatre to the charter school SLAM, short for Sports Leadership Arts Management.
The school is offering a $30 to 50 million restoration of the 1926 theater and its adjacent 10-story building.
At a public meeting, SLAM’s co-founder Millie Sanchez, city officials and Miami City Manager Arthur Noriega, defended the plan as a viable path forward.
But, many in the community, like Miami resident and filmmaker Billy Corben, voiced their concerns.
"I’m not suggesting pump the brakes, ‘cause there is so much good in this deal. I’m suggesting, take the foot off the gas,” he said.
Under the proposal, if SLAM fails to maintain public and cultural access, the property goes back to the City.
This story appears through a partnership with WLRN.