Miami Beach won’t raze Jackie Gleason Theater

Miami Beach has rejected a call to tear down and replace the landmark Fillmore Miami Beach at Jackie Gleason Theater but now must decide what to do next and who’s going to pay for it.

Commissioners this month asked administrators to talk with Live Nation, the theater’s operator, to decide whether to tear out the interior and start over or just renovate what’s there, with the aim of finding a middle ground.

“I would like to see something between a full gut reno with the things that will give us the biggest bang for the buck,” said Commissioner Tanya Bhatt, “and I’d like to see that additional cost shared … but I’d like to see that additional cost coming in large measure from Live Nation. We’re already putting in $30 million, and it’s not we, it’s our taxpayers.”

The building, opened in 1951 as the Miami Beach Municipal Auditorium, has welcomed music and dance performances, boxing matches, and hosted the Jackie Gleason TV show for which it was renamed.

“The image of Miami Beach,” said Commissioner Alex Fernandez, “somewhat, has been tied to the Jackie Gleason theater, and I think that’s something that’s to be celebrated.”

In 2022 city voters approved $159 million in bonds (GO bond) for arts and culture that included $29.1 million for renovations of the theater.

“For a long time, we were having a discussion about building a new building,” said Mr. Fernandez, “about the cost of a new building.” Investing $29 million toward a new building might be the best long-term use of the money, he said, because the investment would have a longer lifespan, but history must be taken into account.

“We need to consider the sentimental value of this building to the community and how intertwined it is to the identity of Miami Beach,” said Mr. Fernandez, “Today, I am ready to say that we should be taking off the table any consideration to demolish the existing Jackie Gleason theater.”

Earlier, Daniel Alzuri, assistant director of facilities and fleet management, said “GO bond for art and culture funds $29.1 million, which is at the heart of that number, is all the remediation work that we need to do to an old building. It’s the plumbing, it’s the electrical, it’s the HVAC. There’s a smoke evac system, some of the work on the fire system. If I can make the analogy of restoring a car, it’s the transmission and the engine. It’s not stuff you’re going to see. It’s not a paint job.”

Some finishes would be included and $4.4 million would go toward production equipment, $1.8 million for a VIP lounge, Mr. Alzuri said. “There will be something to show for it that will enhance the guest experience. But a gut renovation, all new guts, that’s not what the $29.1 million is going to get us.”

The second option is the new building for $57 million, Mr. Alzuri said, 55,000 square feet compared to the 88,000 now there, but with a larger capacity. Another option, he said, is a complete renovation, in which the shell is kept and the inside completely redone, “and that comes in at about $87 million.”

Mr. Fernandez said he’d consider investing the $29 million from bonds toward fixing up the facility as opposed to putting that money into a gut renovation.

“That leaves us with a balance of $58 million that we need to figure out how we are going to cover that gap,” said Mr. Fernandez, but it shouldn’t fall entirely on taxpayers, as it is a privately managed facility that Live Nation operates.