Preservation board denied Met Square discussion

Met Square rendering
Met Square rendering

Miami’s assistant city attorney surprisingly denied the city’s historic preservation board a chance to discuss a possible historic designation for the downtown Met Square site.

The attorney, Amanda Quirke, said a pending appeal from Met Square developer MDM Group must be taken up by city commissioners before the preservation board gets a chance to discuss a historic designation, the Miami Herald reported. The board had expected to vote on the designation for the site, where remains of a 2,000-year-old Tequesta Indian Village and Henry Flagler’s Royal Palm Hotel were found, during Tuesday’s meeting. Instead, commissioners are slated to consider MDM’s appeal during their March 27 meeting.

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Board chairman William Hopper told the Herald he could not recall another time when the board was prohibited from considering a historic designation. Becky Roper Matkov, president of preservation group Dade Heritage Trust, called the decision “outrageous” and said it “emasculates” the board. [Miami Herald]Eric Kalis