The 1952 El Portal Church sat boarded up for a decade. After a $5.5 million sale in 2021, its future became a major redevelopment fight- here's what actually happened to the historic 75-year-old church

A boarded-up church with fading yellow paint and white columns had become a familiar sight in El Portal. For about a decade, the former Rader Memorial United Methodist Church sat largely unused along Northeast Second Avenue. It was supposed to change. In 2021, Miami-based Elm Springs paid $5.5 million for the property through its Sanctuary Village affiliate, with plans to give the old church and school a new commercial life. The proposed redevelopment called for offices, retail and restaurant space, as per a report by The Real Deal.

The old church had been waiting for a new purpose

The property at 205 Northeast 87th Street covers about 2 acres and includes a 28,947-square-foot church and school built in 1952. Inside are a cathedral with high ceilings and 20 classrooms. Before Elm Springs acquired the site, local investors Seth Gadinsky and Samuel Soriero had purchased it in February 2016 for $3.2 million, according to the deed. The two investors did not simply put the property on the market. They worked on preparing it for redevelopment and obtained entitlements that allowed the site to be used for a mix of commercial purposes.

Alfredo Riascos of Gridline Properties, who represented the sellers, said they saw the potential in the building and its parking area. “They had realized the full potential of this building and the ample parking, and they went on a quest to fully entitle the property and upzone it into a true mixed-use commercial retail and restaurant property,” Riascos said.

The plan eventually moved toward a sale as nearby parts of Miami became increasingly attractive for adaptive reuse projects. Little River and the Upper East Side had become hotspots for this type of redevelopment. The Citadel food hall, for example, opened in a former industrial property a few blocks south of the church.



Riascos said Elm Springs was chosen because its plans lined up with the work the sellers had already done.

“They picked Elm Springs, because it’s plans are in line with the sellers’,” Riascos said.

Gadinsky is principal of Gadinsky Real Estate, which works in real estate development, leasing, management and consulting. Soriero is principal of Group 10 Capital Management, which manages investment partnerships focused on real estate, direct lending and medical service-related companies, according to its website.

The $5.5 million property later became part of a bigger redevelopment fight

The former church's story took another turn after Elm Springs acquired it. WeWork’s Adam Neumann later purchased the church property from an affiliate of Elm Springs for $13.7 million. The sale became part of a larger plan involving SOLFL School, a private school connected to Neumann's wife, Rebekah Neumann. The planned school has sparked opposition from residents in El Portal, particularly after crews began demolishing the former Rader Memorial United Methodist Church.

At a town hall, about 100 residents attended, with several speaking against the demolition and the proposed redevelopment.

“When you tore down the church, you punched us in the face,” resident Denise White said. “Right now, you’re acting overlordy, not neighborly.”




Michael Kosnitzky, an attorney for the developer, said the plans had been public and that the community had been involved in multiple public hearings. “This site has been vacant for 20 years and the goal of creating a school is far better than letting the structure continue to deteriorate and ultimately collapse,” Kosnitzky said. “We have also been continuously engaged with community, offering to fund infrastructure upgrades and additional police.”

SOLFL representatives said the church had to be cleared because it was unsafe. Jeffrey Davis said, “It has to be cleared. It is completely unsafe.”

The school plan calls for two-story Tiki hut-style buildings, an eight-foot perimeter wall and 3-D printed construction. The proposed campus would serve as many as 350 students from kindergarten through 12th grade.

The redevelopment is now far different from the office, retail and restaurant plan once envisioned for the property. Over the summer, SOLFL explored renovating the church into a school but later shifted toward new construction because it was less expensive, Davis said. The El Portal property is also part of a wider development push by Neumann. His Miami-based multifamily development firm Flow and Canada Global bought a 16-acre former mobile home park in El Portal for $71.5 million last year. The joint venture is planning a mixed-use development with more than 2,380 apartments, although plans have not been disclosed.

The former church therefore sits at the center of two very different visions for the property. What began as a plan to reuse a long-boarded-up church as offices, shops and restaurant space eventually became part of a proposed private school development and a heated local debate over what should happen to one of El Portal's most recognizable properties.

What actually happened to the historic 75-year-old church

The future of the former Rader Memorial United Methodist Church is now tied to Adam Neumann and Rebekah Neumann’s plans for the SOLFL school. The 1952 church has already been demolished, clearing the site for the proposed campus. The planned school would feature two-story buildings with thatched roofs and accommodate up to 350 students from kindergarten through high school. The project has drawn strong opposition from some El Portal residents, who have raised concerns about traffic, development and the loss of a familiar part of the village. Others support the project, pointing to promises of a new park and efforts to improve the local downtown. Developer attorney Michael Kosnitzky has defended the plan, saying the site had been vacant for years and that the school would be preferable to allowing the old structure to deteriorate, as per a report by Realtor.

FAQs

Who bought the former El Portal church in 2021?
Miami-based Elm Springs bought the property for $5.5 million through its Sanctuary Village affiliate.

What was planned for the church?
Elm Springs planned to reuse it for offices, retail and restaurant space.