Selling off the Grove, one parcel at a time

I was holding off on this story, until I had facts, but the Herald decided to run with the rumors today as a story, so here goes: The Coconut Grove Bank is for sale and developers are salivating over it. The Bank isn't talking (the employees actually denied it to our face and others yesterday when asked about it), but the word on the street is that a major developer, whose name you all know, is interested in the bank building and land (not the bank itself) and a major condo project will be going in.

One idea is to have a 600 unit condo, consisting of six to seven buildings.

The bank will move to a building behind the current bank building now. I was approached by so many people yesterday who are furious, not so much by the condos, but by the fact that their bank is going to move or leave. There is talk that they want to sell off the bank to the highest bidder, too. It may behoove the bank to hold off on that as there may be a run on the bank as people are furious enough to tell me they are closing their accounts. I know one friend who is going to Chase Monday to move her account over, another says she has bank account #3, basically, that she's been there from almost day one, she is furious.

But I don't really think the bank is going to leave the Grove, just that building. But it is another small town aspect that is leaving Coconut Grove, as we slowly become a mini-metropolis.

We can't get much more than that on the bank plans, no one wants to talk, but we do believe that to be the story for now. They are going to have a nice new park across the street it seems. Can't give those new neighbors an ugly Expo Center to look at.

Speaking of building, the building that housed the old Fuddruckers has sold, that's at 3444 Main Highway, that old 100 year old Spanish-type structure. Talk is of a new condo going up there, too. This and the bank condos are on the horizon, nothing written in stone yet. The flavor of the Grove is changing, and not in a good way.

The Playhouse sits there because the rumor is that they want it to get so decrepit and termite ridden that the building will come down, leaving the space for another condo project.

A few people are going to urbanize the Grove in the name of the almighty buck no matter what.

Talk is that "the park" is going to end up being a Bayside, that is why those Scotty's Landing and Chart House RFP's were thrown out, because the company that was supposed to win, didn't. So now it's a do-over to be sure the "right company" gets the job.

There really is no quality of life around here anymore. It's all being sold off to the best (not necessarily highest) bidder. Will the last person grab the last remaining tree and shut the lights on your way out.