Bringing down the house [South Florida]
Briefly this summer, a mansion in the estates section raised the question of what the town might do to protect a house that, while well-designed, is not old enough to be landmarked.
With no procedures in place for the Architectural Review Commission to deny demolition of the 1993 home, and with the Landmarks Preservation Commission opting not to vote on 101 El Bravo Way, it was razed to make way for a spec mansion with broader market appeal.
“It was gone within days, before you could blink. It’s a shame we didn’t have the means to protect a good-looking building,” architectural commissioner Morgan Wheelock said. “It was a quite beautiful coquina house, very nice, right in the ‘landmarking’ area of the El streets.”
He has spoken to some members of the Town Council about an ordinance that would allow the town to “if not landmark, then preserve something beautiful.”