If the demolition of the Savoy moves forward, it\u2019ll be thanks to The Resiliency and Safe Structures Act<\/a>, a state law passed in 2024. The law is meant to preserve safety in areas prone to floods, and allows recognized historic properties to be demolished if they do not meet certain flood criteria set by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).<\/p>\n Almost the entirety of Miami Beach is in a floodzone, according to FEMA flood maps<\/a>.<\/p>\n And thanks to another recent state law \u2014 the Live Local Act \u2014 developers would be able to sidestep local zoning regulations, allowing for a project that would smash height restrictions to tower above all surrounding buildings.<\/p>\n The bill<\/p>\n The bill was sponsored by Republican State Sen. Bryan Avila<\/a>, who was recently selected by Republican gubernatorial nominee Byron Donalds as a candidate for Lieutenant Governor<\/a>. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed it into law.<\/p>\n Florida Rep. Bryan Avila speaks during a legislative session at the Florida State Capitol in 2022 in Tallahassee, Fla. <\/p>\n During a 2024 committee hearing, after Miami Beach residents and groups spoke in strong opposition to his bill, Avila quipped: “It’s safe to say I might not be able to have coffee at Miami Beach anytime soon.”<\/p>\n The Miami Design Preservation League, a Miami Beach-based nonprofit, published a blog post in 2024 specifically warning<\/a> that Avila\u2019s bill could lead to the demolition of the Savoy Hotel and other historic properties.<\/p>\n “This is something that was not only predictable, but was predicted, in fact, by the Miami Design Preservation League,\u201d \u200aMeg Lousteau, the \u200aexecutive director of the League, told WLRN.<\/p>\n READ MORE: New ‘bulldozing’ bill threatens South Beach’s Art Deco soul, city leaders say<\/a><\/p>\n The hotel is made up of two structures, both impacted by the potential demolition: the Savoy, built in 1937, will be partly preserved under the new plans; and the Arlington, built in 1941, would be completely demolished.<\/p>\n Avila\u2019s law bans local governments in coastal communities from preventing the demolition of many historic structures if they are \u201cnonconforming\u201d to modern flood standards, or if that building has been deemed unsafe. The measure also prevented local governments from requiring the \u201cpreservation of any elements of a demolished structure.\u201d<\/p>\n Residents and local elected officials warned that the bill could severely impact Miami Beach and other coastal communities when the bill was first introduced in 2023. Buildings that are only a few decades old do not meet current flood standards, and the entire city of Miami Beach falls under the purview of the law.<\/p>\n Avila, who represented Hialeah in the Florida Senate, drew widespread criticism for first introducing the bill in 2023 when his district was nowhere near the water and nowhere near the impacts of the proposed law.<\/p>\n “I love Hialeah, but Hialeah isn\u2019t known for its architecture except for the race track,” Ileana Oroza, a Miami Beach resident told WLRN<\/a> during a street protest in 2023. “And it\u2019s a Hialeah senator that wants to take all this away? It\u2019s just wrong.”<\/p>\n Miami Beach commissioner Alex Fernandez also took part in that 2023 protest, and took a stab at Avila during a speech that drew applause from the crowd: “History is rich and alive in Miami Beach. So the message is clear today to Tallahassee: Stick to your district. Stick to Hialeah. Stick to Miami Springs. Leave Miami Beach alone!”<\/p>\n The community activism succeeded in blocking the passage of the bill in 2023. But the following year Avila filed it again the following year, this time successfully.<\/p>\n Commissioner Fernandez told WLRN he hates to say it, but he was right in his opposition of Avila\u2019s bill at the time.<\/p>\n Ver\u00f3nica Zaragovia<\/p>\n \/<\/p>\n WLRN<\/p>\n Protesters, including Miami Beach Commissioner Alex Fernandez, held signs against SB 1346 along the city’s Ocean Drive. <\/p>\n \u201cIt’s the fulfillment of the prophecy pretty much,\u201d said Fernandez. \u201cEverything that they said wouldn’t happen is exactly what is happening with this extremely irresponsible preemption, yet again, of local government.\u201d<\/p>\n A request for comment from the Byron Donalds and Avila campaign was not returned.<\/p>\n Miami Beach\u2019s Republican State Rep. Fabian Basabe joined the mostly Democratic opposition to the bill in the Florida House and voted against it. In the Florida Senate, Democratic State Senator Shevrin Jones, whose district included parts of Miami Beach, voted against it. Republican Senator Ileana Garcia, who represents South Beach, voted for the bill.<\/p>\n The condo<\/p>\n The proposed building planned by Allied Partners and designed by Arquitectonica, would include a hotel co-existing with 90 condos and 60 so-called workforce rental units on Ocean Drive and 4th Street.<\/p>\n While the potential demolition could happen due to Avila\u2019s bill, the plans to build the 38-story building, first reported by the outlet Floridian Developer, are made possible by the Live Local Act, a law passed in 2023 that allows developers to sidestep many local zoning regulations when trying to build large structures.<\/p>\n The law allows large-scale construction in low-scale zones so long as at least 40% of units in the building are maintained as \u201cworkforce housing\u201d for at least 30 years. Workforce housing<\/a> is meant to cater to working class households making a certain amount above the median income in their area, but has been criticized<\/a> for not actually being affordable for the average worker.<\/p>\n The Floridian Developer cited a letter of intent for the demolition of the Savoy Hotel sent to Miami Beach officials in April of 2026. The letter said that the hotel is \u201ccurrently cordoned off by construction fencing and stabilized through shoring, has been closed to the public since it was badly damaged in Hurricane Irma,\u201d and that \u201cdue to its current state, in accordance with the Resiliency and Safe Structures Act, and as allowed by the Live Local Act itself, the Arlington structure will not be preserved in the project.\u201d<\/p>\n Avila\u2019s demolition bill has an exception for historic properties that sit within a historic district recognized by the National Register of Historic Places before January 1, 2000. The Savoy Hotel sits in the South of Fifth neighborhood in Miami Beach, just outside the Miami Beach Architectural District, which was listed in the registry in 1979.<\/p>\n “This is a horrible state preemption on Miami Beach, on every coastal community in Florida. Our hands have been tied.\u201d<\/p>\n Commissioner Alex Fernandez<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aReally anything in the South of Fifth neighborhood of Miami Beach is a potential target, and we may lose any number of historic buildings for this reason alone,\u201d warned Lousteau of the Design Preservation League.<\/p>\n She said that the \u201ccombination\u201d of Avila\u2019s law and the Live Local Act, which passed unanimously in the Florida Senate, could lead to a wholesale change of how many parts of Miami Beach feel on the street level. Further, she said, since the city is banned from preventing the demolition, there is virtually nothing residents can do about it.<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aNot only would this be damaging to the iconic brand and image of our city all over the world, but it also removes local participation from these kinds of decisions, and that is an ongoing problem that doesn’t just affect Miami Beach, but affects pretty much every coastal community,\u201d said Lousteau.<\/p>\n The communities of St. Augustine, Key West, Palm Beach, Tampa, Pensacola, West Palm Beach and Panama City have been largely exempted from the law<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789502648_980_.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n![\"Protesters,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789502649_194_.jpeg\"\/)
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