A 121-year-old cottage that served as Miami's first physician's office is coming to Coconut Grove, but nobody will say exactly where.
Miami commissioners voted 5-0 on Thursday, July 23, to sell the Dr. James M. Jackson Medical Office at 190 SE 12th Terrace in Brickell to billionaire Ken Griffin's company for $2.98 million, the Miami Herald reported. Under the deal, negotiated behind closed doors, Griffin will pay to relocate the white wood-frame building to a site in Coconut Grove selected by Dade Heritage Trust, which has maintained the cottage since 1978. The trust will own both the structure and the land for the first time in its history.
"For us, owning this building and ensuring its long time preservation and the use is a positive," Christine Rupp, executive director of Dade Heritage Trust, told WLRN after the vote. "Once they have control of this site, Citadel will give this building to Dade Heritage Trust. They will relocate it and pay for the construction and maintenance."
Rupp declined to disclose the Coconut Grove site's address, size, or purchase price, according to The Real Deal. Sale documents say only that the building may be moved to a "site to be selected by the Existing Tenant."
The cottage, a 1,550-square-foot structure built in 1905 by Dr. James Jackson as his medical office and surgery suite, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was moved by barge to its Brickell location in 1917 and has stood there for 109 years, hemmed in by skyscrapers. Rupp told WLRN that a Coconut Grove location would spare the century-old building from the constant traffic and construction debris common to Brickell. Falling debris from the adjacent Solaris tower damaged the cottage's roof and garden on several occasions.
Preservationists push back
The no-bid sale drew opposition from preservationists who wanted more public input before the vote.
Beatrice Brickell, great-granddaughter of William and Mary Brickell, the neighborhood's namesakes, submitted a letter read at the hearing urging commissioners to keep the cottage in Brickell. She suggested relocating it to the city's bayfront Brickell Park instead. After the vote, she said the newly organized Mary Bulmer Brickell Foundation would continue lobbying for that alternative.
Becky Roper Matkov, a former Dade Heritage Trust executive director speaking for preservation group The Villagers, urged commissioners to defer approval, arguing the public deserved to know how the building's structural safety would be ensured during relocation, the Coconut Grove Spotlight reported.
No one appeared at the hearing on behalf of Griffin, and no commissioner discussed the deal before voting. Commissioner Damian Pardo, whose district includes Brickell, sponsored the resolution and acknowledged insufficient information had been provided to the public but promised details would follow.
What Grove residents should watch for
Any relocation or renovation of the cottage must be approved by the City of Miami's Historic and Environmental Preservation Board at a future public hearing. That board review has not been scheduled. It represents the next opportunity for residents to weigh in on where and how the building arrives in their neighborhood.
Griffin has spent more than $700 million since 2022 assembling the entire Brickell block around the cottage for Citadel's planned 54-story, $2.5 billion headquarters tower at 1201 Brickell Bay Drive, according to Bisnow. Site work has already begun. The $2.98 million in sale proceeds are earmarked for repair of the aging Brickell Key Bridge.
Once relocated, the cottage will serve as Dade Heritage Trust's first permanent, wholly owned headquarters. No timeline for the move has been announced.
Coming up
- Historic and Environmental Preservation Board hearing on the cottage relocation: date not yet scheduled. This public hearing is required before the move can proceed. Watch the City of Miami's board calendar for updates.
- Dade Heritage Trust announcement on the Coconut Grove site TBA
