In her first meeting as the new City of Miami mayor, Eileen Higgins has impacted the arts and culture scene of the city in directing the future of the historic Tower Theater.
Through a mayor-sponsored item, the City of Miami commission unanimously voted on Thursday to return the theater on Calle Ocho to the management of Miami Dade College, an effort that aims to revive the venue that had been managed by the city since 2022.
New District 3 commissioner Rolando Escalona also sponsored the item.
The quick reversal of a controversial city takeover of the space marks a rapid change of direction for the city’s cultural scene under the new leadership.
“We’re excited that this might mean a new direction,” filmmaker Robert Colom told WLRN about the development. “I’m thrilled that we have leadership that shares similar cultural values as a group of artists that I’m in touch with."
The arts scene in South Florida has been battered by funding cuts at the federal and state levels over the last few years. Last year, Miami-Dade County was also very close to slashing arts funding during a heated budgeting process, before it was restored on a temporary basis.
But for the local film scene, losing the Tower Theater was a particularly heavy loss. The theater — which turns 100-years-old this year — was the longtime home of the Miami Film Festival and other film festivals until the city booted the College from the premises in 2022.
READ MORE: City of Miami to consider renegotiating Watson Island sale, Tower Theater management
Partly in response to losing the Tower Theater and other venues closing down, Colom launched a project called CineMovil, a mobile cinema that stops in different neighborhoods in order to try to fill the gaping hole left by the theater's closure.
"It's gonna mean a really significant shift in a place for cinephiles and filmmakers to go and congregate and have a place to gather again," said Colom.
The long term lease for the iconic Little Havana cinema would be valid for a minimum of 20 years. The final negotiation and agreement still needs to be negotiated by the city before it goes into effect.
For its part, a representative of Miami Dade College told city commissioners that the College looks forward to gaining control of the property once again. The final negotiation and agreement still needs to be negotiated by the city before it goes into effect.
“Miami Dade College looks forward to working in collaboration with the city of Miami, community leaders, local organizations, artists and residents to ensure that the theater remains an active, inclusive and welcoming cultural space,” said María Carla Chicuén, the Executive Director of Cultural Affairs at the College.
“For more than 20 years Miami Dade College operated the Tower Theater as a vibrant educational and cultural space serving Little Havana, Calle Ocho, and the greater Miami community,” said Chicuén. “During that time the College invested significant resources in the preservation, in the maintenance and activation of the theater, welcoming more than 1.2 million visitors and generating meaningful cultural and economic impact for the immediate surrounding neighborhood.”
For years the theater was one of the few places where patrons could reliably watch Spanish-language films in the city. The city’s decision — led by former commissioner Joe Carollo — not to renew the College’s lease in 2022 drew widespread criticism and protest at the time.
By 2024, the city’s direct management of the space had proven lackluster, leaving the space closed more than two out of every three days, WLRN reported. Local businesses along the busy tourist strip complained that foot traffic from events was down and that the building was becoming an eyesore.
“The Tower going back to Miami Dade College is huge. I think it’s going to be incredible for local artists and the local economy and I think it’s going to brighten up the strip again," said filmmaker Colom.
Many speakers at Thursday’s meeting said that the theater had recently been hosting more live theater events, and that live theater venues in the city were lacking.
The city commission did not offer any comments about the deal with Miami Dade College before it unanimously passed the vote.
