A Dade County non-profit called Save-a-House recently preserved this 1917 Edgewater neighborhood bungalow from the wrecker’s ball. Condo developers were set to tear it down to make room for a new project, but the organization, run by ex-city councilperson Carol Cord, was able to convince the developer to donate the house, at which point Save-a-House was able to raise funds to have the house moved to a nearby empty lot donated by Miami-Dade County. The plan is for the house to be renovated and offered for sale to a low-income family. Certainly it’s wonderful to save older homes of redeeming architectural character, but this seems to skirt the issue: in some situations, I’m sure it is necessary, but should Miami-Dade County be allowing 188-unit condominiums in a neighborhood full of older single-family homes?
”We hope this will start a trend of
developers saving houses instead of tearing them down,” says Matthew
Pellar, vice president of development for H&H, which is building a
188-unit condo, Mondrian, on the property.
This project was an abject failure; the house was demolished in December 2005 and never relocated nor renovated. The statement that Save-a-House “was able to raise funds to have the house moved to a nearby empty lot” is a complete falsehood.