OUR OPINION: CORAL ROCK HOUSE WORTH EXTRA EFFORT TO PRESERVE IT

Seems we are not the only ones with preservation problems - JRM
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Click here: Herald.com 01/07/2005 Saving a historic home
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/10586245.htm


Posted on Fri, Jan. 07, 2005


Saving a historic home

OUR OPINION: CORAL ROCK HOUSE WORTH EXTRA EFFORT TO PRESERVE IT


The charming coral-rock home at the corner of Ninth Street and Collins Avenue on Miami Beach has stood for more than eight decades. But its fate is in the balance as Miami-Dade County officials weigh whether the house should be demolished. That would be a shame. The county should give engineers a few extra months to determine if the house can be saved. The home is an architectural icon of the city's earliest years. It is worth rescuing. Only four coral-rock homes remain on the Beach.

The home, which sits in the middle of South Beach's historic-preservation district, is at the center of public debate. Preservationists desperately want to save the structure. The home's owners, Ivor Rose and and Michael Stern, want to demolish it.

The single-story house was built in 1918 by Avery Smith. He operated the first ferry service between Miami and the spit of land that would become Miami Beach.

No one argues that the house is in great shape. In August, city building officials deemed the house unsafe. Part of the roof has collapsed. The concrete lining and support walls are crumbling. To their credit, the owners have been patient and accommodating. Though their own engineer said that the building should be razed, Rose and Stern have agreed to let an engineer recommended by preservationists assess the structure, too. They also are willing to reconstruct the home to some degree.

The county's Unsafe Structures Board later this month will decide the home's fate. On Dec. 15, it gave the engineer 30 days to complete his assessment. That's not enough time to do a proper job.

The city and engineer should ask for more time -- and board members should be willing to grant the time if that's what it takes to save a rare link to the past.