3 January 5-11, 2023 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times | Contents | Letters | news | night+Day | CuLture | Cafe | MusiC | ▼ MIAMI TRAFFIC TRIGGER RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPER EYES SITE OF CITY’S LAST SEARS STORE. BY MAYA WASHBURN W ary residents of Miami’s historic Coral Gate community are in talks with a large-scale developer who wants to tear down a nearby 68-year-old Sears store and build a modern high-density residential and retail complex in its place. Raanan Katz of RK Centers, which holds more than ten million square feet of commer- cial real estate across the nation, has owned the Sears property since 1987. Katz, part- owner of the Miami Heat, is looking to change the property’s zoning to allow for the buildout of two 400-unit buildings. The development would be a mixed-use project with a public park that would span more than an acre of the City of Miami neigh- borhood, which is roughly bordered by Coral Gables to the west, SW 16th Street to the north, Coral Way to the south, and SW 32nd Avenue to the east. Established in 1948, Coral Gate touts itself as Miami’s first planned sub- division, featuring a mix of midcentury sin- gle-family homes. Julie Hood, a Coral Gate homeowner for more than 30 years, is among the residents concerned about the scale of the project. “The developers want to upzone, so of course they’re going to want our blessing,” Hood tells New Times. “We’re really trying to work with them, but it’ll be crazy if they upzone to 800 units. Of course [the new neighbors] will all have big dogs that will come and crap on my lawn and on and on… Some ‘progress.’” To change the zoning, the developer would have to follow a lengthy process that would involve filing its plans with the City of Miami and then heeding comments from the planning department before the com- pany attends a public hearing and receives a final decision. Nearby neighbors would have an opportunity to speak in support of or against the project at the hearing. The eight-acre plot abutting Coral Way is valued for tax purposes at $31.75 million. It’s currently the site of the last Sears department store in Miami. Built in 1954, the store was once a hotspot for affordable shopping. In its heyday, it was sometimes so packed that customers search- ing for deals struggled to find parking. Sears, a onetime retail giant with thousands of lo- cations, recently emerged from a 2018 bank- ruptcy with less than 20 full-line stores, three of which remain in Florida. When RK Centers first introduced the project to residents of the adjacent Coral Gate community at a homeowner association meeting on April 28, neighbors worried the planned development would cause traffic congestion around Coral Gate Drive. “We are currently reviewing those com- ments and revising plans,” says Andrew Zi- dar, vice president of development and acquisitions with RK Centers. “We are in the process of redesigning the project in re- sponse to the neighborhood comments. [Our goal is] to redevelop this property in a man- ner which is a ‘win-win’ for both the property owner and neighboring community.” Residents who are leery of the project hired attorney Tucker Gibbs to negotiate with RK Centers, with the goal of decreasing the project’s size and preventing the devel- opment from changing the face of the com- munity. According to Gibbs, one 65-unit building is allowed under the current zoning. “My clients have serious concerns with the impact of the project on their neighbor- hood,” Gibbs tells New Times. “When it comes down to it, the primary issue the neighborhood has is with the density and in- tensity of the project because it [adds] to traf- fic, which is a big safety issue.” The attorney is hopeful that negotiations will reach a point where residents’ concerns are quelled. “I think the developer understands what our position is,” Gibbs says. “They’re trying to figure [how] to address it in a way that they can keep us happy. I think all parties in this want to come to an agreement. I believe that.” Zidar says Sears’ lease term expires in 2030. As of December 29, he says, there have not been discussions about terminating the lease early. Some Coral Gate community members see potential benefits of the project in light of South Florida’s housing crisis. Alexander Sutton, a Coral Gate resident and student at Florida International University, says the project could provide housing stock in an area in desperate need of new units. “I can see maybe why [the project] could become an issue, but there are always things that can be done if we feel like the neighbor- hood becomes less safe,” Sutton says. The final public hearing is a long way from happening. RK Centers’ representatives say they are waiting to apply to the City of Miami for rezoning until they can reach a compro- mise with the neighbors. At a Coral Gate homeowner association meeting on November 9, the packed parish hall at St. Raymond’s Catholic Church broke into roaring applause when a resident proclaimed, “We will not allow them to change the code!” | RIPTIDE | Photo by Phillip Pessar via Flickr ▼ MIAMI-DADE EDGELORD IN CUSTODY FEDS SAY MAN THREATENED MIAMI JUDGE AFTER SHE RULED AGAINST SANCTUARY CITY BAN. BY IZZY KAPNICK A comment left on a Fox News YouTube channel — calling a Miami judge a “dead commie traitor” — has landed a West Virginia man in federal court on a felony charge of making an interstate threat. Prosecutors claim Lloyd Kent Thomas Jr. used the online alias “American patriot” to make violent threats against a South Florida federal judge after she handed down a politically charged ruling against Governor Ron DeSantis in September 2021. “[The judge] is a dead commie traitor. All democrat terrorists are dead. You will all be shot dead on sight,” the comment reads. “All demo- crat commies will bleed out in every American town.” The comment caught the attention of the U.S. Marshals Service and triggered an investigation, which led the FBI to track down Thomas at his home in Williamstown, West Virginia. On December 20, a grand injury indictment was filed against Thomas on a count of making an interstate threat to inflict bodily harm, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The FBI affidavit redacts the name of the judge whom Thomas allegedly threatened. However, the ruling date, underlying case de- scription, and the YouTube video details listed in Thomas’ file make it clear that the vitriolic com- ment was directed at U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom after she handed down a decision against Gov. Ron DeSantis in a case over a Flor- ida immigration law. In the September 21, 2021 ruling, Bloom blocked two sections of SB 168: Federal Immi- gration Enforcement, a controversial 2019 state law prohibiting sanctuary cities in Florida. She found the provisions were passed by the Re- publican-led legislature with discriminatory in- tent and were unconstitutional. One of the sections required local police to “use best efforts to support the enforcement of federal immigration law.” The other prohibited Florida cities from adopting “sanctuary policies” that could impede law enforcement from com- plying with federal immigration detainers and other enforcement measures. (The decision is on appeal in the 11th Circuit.) The case was brought by the City of South Miami alongside immigrant-rights advocates who alleged that SB 168 was preempted by fed- eral immigration law and would subject “Black and brown Floridians who may be perceived as ‘foreign’” to racial profiling. Bloom held a six-day bench trial on the mat- ter in January 2021. Aware of the vol- atile political atmo- sphere surrounding the issue of sanctu- ary cities, the U.S. Marshals Service ramped up protec- tive measures for the judge when the rul- ing came out. The Miami-Dade Police Depart- ment also increased its patrols around the judge’s residence, according to court docu- ments. In an interview on Fox News shortly after the ruling, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody criticized the judge, calling her decision “dis- gusting,” accusing her of judicial activism, and saying the decision was “one of the most non- sensical rulings” she had seen in her legal career. Thousands of reactions poured into the com- ment section when Fox News posted the inter- view three days after the ruling. While the comments included several hateful messages, the U.S. Marshals Service keyed in on Thomas’ alleged online outburst because of its explicitly threatening tone, according to the FBI affidavit. Other users’ comments alarmed the Marshals as well, including one which released the Miami judge’s home address, according to the affidavit. Federal prosecutors secured subpoenas for the email and internet-protocol address associ- ated with “the dead commie” comment, allowing the FBI to locate Thomas’ residence in William- stown, West Virginia, according to the affidavit. The affidavit states that when law enforce- ment approached Thomas in his home on March 2 — with a printed copy of the threat in hand — he conceded, “Yes sir, I said it.” A warrant was issued for Thomas in the Southern District of Florida last month, and he was arrested on December 7, court records show. [email protected] GET MORE NEWS & COMMENTARY AT MIAMINEWTIMES.COM/NEWS “ALL DEMOCRAT COMMIES WILL BLEED OUT IN EVERY AMERICAN TOWN.” A worn sign outside Miami’s last Sears store on March 27, 2022.
