Eighteen residents near the Coconut Grove Playhouse and the nonprofit Preserve the West Grove are suing to undo the city's approval of a plan to rebuild the shuttered theater.

The group filed a petition Aug. 27 in Miami-Dade Circuit Court challenging the Miami City Commission's 5-0 vote on July 9 to greenlight Miami-Dade County's redevelopment plan, Coconut Grove Spotlight reported. The petitioners argue the commission used the wrong legal framework, failed to verify the project met the city's zoning code and approved it without studying its effects on the surrounding neighborhood.

The project's total budget is about $58.4 million, according to The Real Deal. Coconut Grove Spotlight placed the figure at $59 million.

Attorney David Winker, who represents the petitioners, said he plans to seek an injunction to pause construction while the case moves through court. He estimated a decision could take six to 12 months. Winker said the commission's approval should be undone and the process restarted so the city follows its own zoning rules.

What the plan includes

The county's plan would restore the Playhouse's 1926 facade and build a new 310-seat theater behind it, along with an open-air plaza, retail, food-and-beverage space, offices, educational space and a 289-space parking garage. In all, the project would place more than 35,000 square feet of commercial space next to some of the oldest residential streets in the West Grove, the heart of Coconut Grove's historically Black community.

The commission granted five zoning exceptions and four waivers on July 9. It also allowed the county to increase lot coverage from 50% to 62.4% and cut required green space from 30% to 14.9%.

GableStage and Florida International University would manage the theater under the county's plan, the Miami Herald reported.

What the lawsuit claims

The petition asks the court to overturn the commission's approval and send the matter back to the city.

It raises several arguments. They say the commission improperly used zoning exceptions to allow a largely commercial project on land zoned Civic Institutional. It states the city approved the project without adequate evidence of its impact on traffic, parking, noise and lighting for nearby homes. It also challenges the city's decision to require an updated traffic study after the vote rather than before it.

The petition also questions whether Miami-Dade County had the legal standing to apply for the zoning approvals. The Playhouse property is owned by the State of Florida and leased to the county since 2014. The petitioners argue the county never provided an Authorization to Act or a notarized Hold Harmless Agreement from the state, documents the city requires when an applicant is not the property owner.

Prior challenges

The Playhouse was built in 1926 as a Paramount Pictures movie palace, and The State of Florida acquired the property in 1980. The City of Miami designated it a local historic landmark in 2005. The theater closed in 2006.

The city's Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board (PZAB) had earlier rejected the county's application. The motion received five votes in favor and four against but fell short of the six-vote supermajority required. The county appealed that denial to the City Commission, which overrode it unanimously.

Opponents have lost a string of prior legal challenges. In February 2024, a panel of Miami-Dade County judges tossed out a PZAB decision that had denied the county's demolition waiver, finding the board ruled outside its jurisdiction, WLRN reported.

West Grove resident Mamie Armbrister told commissioners before the July 9 vote: "We do not oppose the playhouse. We just don't want our neighborhood invaded."

Miami-Dade County Commissioner Raquel Regalado, who has served as the project's public face, told the Miami Herald after the July 9 vote that final designs were finished and awaited only building permits. She called an injunction unlikely given the opponents' record in court.

Residents of Charles Avenue and the West Grove have spent much of 2026 fighting multiple development pressures on the historic street, including the Playhouse project and a temporary construction parking lot approved for Ransom Everglades, Coconut Grove Spotlight reported Aug. 20.

No response from Miami-Dade County or the City of Miami regarding the Aug. 27 lawsuit appeared in available public records as of publication. Winker estimated the court could rule within six to 12 months.