Miami's historic preservation board has finally taken action to force the Related Group to publicly recognize and preserve a major prehistoric indigenous site discovered on land where the company is planning to build a 1,400 residential unit in three towers in the Brickell District.
A notice of discovery was initially filed with the city of Miami in April 2021, which Biscayne Times featured in "Related Group High-Rise Leads to Tequesta Discovery," by Blanca Mesa.
At a five-hour-long hearing held at Miami City Hall Tuesday, April 4 -- under pressure from activists and the public -- Related's founder and Chairman Jorge Pérez and his attorneys announced that they are already working on a "preservation action plan."
The respected archaeologist leading the excavation, Robert Carr, spoke at the hearing about the site's importance as the capital of the Tequesta people dating back 2,500 years.
“We are learning, in an extensive way, more than anything we’ve ever seen,” Carr said. “Miami, the town of Tequesta, was a major indigenous capital. This was a very complicated, stratified society.”
The board has the power to impose protections for properties that meet certain legal criteria, and it voted 8-0 to start the process of designating the other half of the Related property at 444 Brickell Avenue as a protected landmark. If a historical designation is approved, it could withhold development permits until it's satisfied with Related's preservation plan.
Under the implied threat of litigation, however, the board withdrew a proposal to designate as a protected landmark about half of the Related property, where plans for a pair of residential towers are well underway. Those are the parcels where extensive archaeological excavation is still ongoing and where a federal office building once stood.
While Related is being allowed to proceed with its development plans, it may have to preserve some portions or otherwise adapt it to accommodate exhibitions and public access on the site.