A Miami city board on Tuesday unanimously approved temporary protection for a portion of a newly uncovered prehistoric settlement in the Brickell neighborhood, laying the groundwork for what could be a future tussle between a prominent developer and preservationists over construction on the site.
By a 6-0 vote, the city historic preservation board approved preliminary designation as a protected archaeological site for 444 Brickell Ave., one piece of a larger property on the Miami River slated for redevelopment by the Related Group. Archaeologists excavating a portion of the Related property for the past two years have unearthed an unexpectedly rich trove of artifacts, plant and animal materials and traces of indigenous structures dating back thousands of years.
Independent archaeologists say the extensive and unusually intact discoveries on the site make it one of the most significant prehistoric sites in South Florida.
The vote ratifies an April agreement between preservationists and developer Related, which earlier in the year had begun construction on one of three planned residential towers on its property after archaeologists completed excavation on that vacant piece, which abuts an existing office building at 444 Brickell. Excavation continues on another vacant portion of the Related property.
The approval came with little discussion after a dozen members of the public, including members of Native American groups, spoke in favor of designation, with none opposed. Board member Luis Prieto y Munoz said it was “abundantly” clear that the property merits the designation as a protected site.
“That site should be preserved for future generations of Miamians,” Ernesto Cuesta, president of the Brickell Homeowners Association, told the board.
The vote halts issuance of any demolition or major building permits on the 444 Brickell property for at least six months, while the city preservation office prepares a detailed study for its final designation as a legally protected archaeological site. Related did secure one concession on Tuesday: the board agreed the company can apply for permits for interior work at 444 Brickell, an occupied office building, as part of its ongoing 40-year recertification.
That final designation would give the preservation board significant say in any project built by Related on the property, including imposing requirements for preserving portions of the site and the handling and public exhibition of findings. But it doesn’t by itself settle the question of whether any portion of the site would be set aside for those purposes.
As part of the April agreement, Related pledged to develop a plan to highlight the archaeological finds on the site, though it committed to no specifics. Under the deal, Related has six months after the ongoing excavation is concluded to release its plan, Related’s attorney Iris Escarra told the board. That excavation won’t be done for several more months, she said Tuesday.
Under that earlier agreement, preservationists agreed to drop a proposal to designate the entire Related property as an archaeological site. Foundation work already has begun on an apartment tower on Southwest Fifth Street, and Related has started advertising a planned luxury condo next to it at the river’s edge called Baccarat Residences.
Escarra strongly indicated to the board that Related intends to move ahead with plans to redevelop the 444 Brickell property, though she offered no timeline or details. The firm has said it will eventually demolish the office building to clear the way for a residential high-rise. Under city law, Related is obligated to conduct an extensive archaeological excavation once the building is torn down.
Although no digging or exploration has yet taken place below 444 Brickell, the city archaeologist concluded in a preliminary report that it’s likely to sit atop a portion of what’s now confirmed to be an extensive Tequesta Indian village that once stretched along both banks of the river to the edge of Biscayne Bay and included the Miami Circle, today a national historic landmark.
But what the city can require Related to do at 444 Brickell will in large part depend on what archaeological discoveries are eventually made there, Escarra said.
Final designation would require Related to seek approval from the preservation board for any building plan, and while it could block or limit development on the site, the shape of a final plan would more likely be the subject of negotiation between the two.
That’s what happened in 2014 after archaeologists found significant traces of Tequesta settlement on the opposite bank of the river in downtown Miami. The developers of the Met Square project agreed to save circular posthole foundations and set aside space to exhibit artifacts, though litigation continues because preservationists say the builder MDM haven’t fully kept their promise.
Related can also appeal board decisions to a presumably city commission known to be developer friendly.
Among members of the public, sentiment for preserving all or most of the property as a green space and public park was strong.
“We have a lack of green spaces,” Cuesta, the Brickell Homeowners Association president, told the board. “The city is becoming a concrete jungle.”
The association’s director, Abby Apé, echoed Cuesta, noting that Related has yet to accept an invitation to speak to its members.
“You need to make sure we preserve some of the history in some way, shape or form,” she told the board.
Members of some Native American groups, while supporting the designation, urged the city to also stop all excavation at the site, calling it a “desecration” of indigenous people’s resting places.
Partial, ancient human remains have been found at the site. Under Florida law, they are reburied under the supervision of leaders of officially recognized tribes. But some tribal groups and individuals don’t agree with that practice or with archaeological excavation, and think historic indigenous sites should be left undisturbed.
Robert Rosa, a leader in the American Indian Movement in Florida, asked the city not to allow demolition of 444 Brickell to protect what lies under it.
“It needs to go a step further” beyond designation, Rosa said. “One site has already been desecrated. I ask of you to take this next step. Everything else has already been looted.”
What’s been unearthed at the Related property includes hundreds of thousands of artifacts, pottery shards and other materials, as well as patterns of postholes in the limestone that archaeologists say formed the foundation of structures of a 2,500-year-old Tequesta Indian village.
Some spear points found at the site date back even longer, some 7,000 years or so, to the Late Archaic period of prehistory, suggesting the possibility it has been continuously occupied since then, independent archaeologists say.
This story was originally published July 11, 2023 8:16 PM.