The fate of the Tower Theater is in the hands of the Miami City Commission once again.
Miami Dade College photo
At the first city commission meeting of 2026, newly elected Mayor Eileen Higgins and District 3 Commissioner Rolando Escalona are looking to hand control of the historic Tower Theater on Calle Ocho back to Miami Dade College (MDC).
In a resolution on the agenda for Thursday’s commission meeting, Escalona and Higgins propose that the city manager negotiate and execute a 20-year management agreement with MDC for the theater, with automatic renewals every five years.
MDC had operated the theater for more than 20 years before the city declined to renew its management contract with the college in 2022. Despite protests from Miami artists and filmmakers, the city commission voted in 2023 to hand operations to District 3, where the theater is located, under then-Commissioner Joe Carollo. Initially, Carollo wanted to hand control over the theater and its parking lot to the Bay of Pigs Veteran Association, Brigade 2506, to build a museum and affordable housing. That plan was scrapped after the group said it did not wish to operate the property.
“I want to thank Miami Dade College for the years that it managed the Tower Theater, but as with everything else in life, everything changes,” Carollo said during an October 2022 news conference. “The city administration has been of the belief that the use of the Tower Theater is nowhere near its maximum use.”
Under the city’s control, the programming was minimal, including one-off events and exhibitions such as “Celia Cruz: Por Siempre.” Meanwhile, the city announced plans to transform it into a multipurpose cultural hub and tourist center.
In the 1960s, the Tower Theater, which first opened in 1926 and became one of the finest state-of-the-art theaters in the South, became a cultural hub for Cuban immigrants who had settled in Miami and wanted to watch American films. After closing to the public in 1984, the city purchased and restored the historic venue in the early ’90s. In 2002, the city leased management operations to MDC, which hosted events, art exhibits, and film festivals there.
The upcoming agenda item says the “immediate return” of the theater under MDC’s control “is necessary to preserve programming continuity, protect the theater’s cultural legacy, and ensure the long-term stability of this historic public asset.”
“In January 2023, the city assumed direct operation of the Tower Theater, disrupting a long-standing and highly successful management model that had earned broad community support,” the resolution reads. “Residents, artists, educators, and cultural organizations have strongly advocated for the return of Miami Dade College’s stewardship of the Tower Theater, recognizing the College’s unique capacity to operate the new venue in a manner consistent with its historic mission.”
Recently, after a three-year hiatus, the Miami Film Festival’s fall showcase, Gems, returned to the Tower Theater. It had left its historic home when the city terminated MDC’s contract.