Your Home Could Be Historic
A guide to single-family historic designation in Miami Beach
Miami Beach is one of the most architecturally celebrated cities on the planet — and that reputation rests not just on grand hotels and sweeping promenades, but on thousands of individual homes, each one a small chapter in a larger story. The City’s Historic Preservation Board exists to honor that story, and every year it receives requests from single-family homeowners who want to make it official.
To date, 24 homes have received this designation — from high-end showpieces to modest gems, each contributing something irreplaceable to the city’s architectural fabric. Could yours be next?
There is no application fee for single-family home designation. Just one public hearing is required. The process is more approachable than you might think.
how it works
When you submit a request to the Planning Department, their team gets to work — researching your home’s construction date, architect, and design integrity to determine whether it qualifies for consideration by the Historic Preservation Board.
Your home must satisfy at least one of the eight designation criteria below. If the Planning Department determines it does, they’ll schedule a public hearing and work closely with you to prepare a Designation Report. Think of them as partners in this process, not gatekeepers.
One important note: only the exterior of the home is subject to review. The Board has no interest in what’s inside your walls.
Among the factors considered: the age of the home, its architectural style and period, the architect, and its current design integrity — meaning, does it still read as the building it was always meant to be, or have alterations obscured its original character? Even altered homes can qualify, as long as the changes are reversible and the most significant architectural elements remain intact.
The 8 designation criteria
Your home needs to meet only one of the following criteria for designation to be granted:
- An association with events that have made significant contributions to the city, county, state, or nation
- An association with the lives of significant individuals in the city’s history
- Embodying the distinctive characteristics of an historical period, an architectural of design style, or a particular method of construction
- Possessing intrinsically high artistic merit
- Representing the work of an acknowledged master, such as a master designer/architect/or builder who contributed to our common historic/aesthetic/or architectural heritage
- Has yielded, or is likely to yield, important historic information
- Having a listing in the National Register of Historic Places
- Being part of a geographically defined and distinct area of similar structures united by similar elements, even if individual components might lack distinction
Only ONE of the eight criteria above must be satisfied. Don't be intimidated — the City and the Board actively welcome single-family home designation.
what's in it for you
Beyond the profound satisfaction of knowing your home is part of Miami Beach’s story, designation comes with real, tangible benefits.
FLOOD PLAIN FLEXIBILITY
If renovation costs exceed 50% of your home’s depreciated replacement value, standard State Building Code typically requires raising the floor to meet current flood criteria. Historically designated homes can seek a waiver from the City’s Flood Plain Management Board — allowing you to expand comfortably without lifting original floors. Many Miami Beach homeowners have used this benefit to great effect.
Property tax savings
The City’s Historic Ad Valorem Tax Exemption Program exempts qualifying improvements from the City’s portion of real estate taxes for ten years — based on the “added value” as determined by the County Tax Appraiser. That’s a decade of savings on the value you’re adding to a home that already means something.
Freedom to make changes
Designation doesn’t freeze your home in amber. The Historic Preservation Board regularly approves alterations and additions that are thoughtfully designed and don’t compromise historical significance. This approval is called a Certificate of Appropriateness, and in most cases requires just one public hearing — again, with no application fee.
Pride of place
Tourists, architects, and historians come to Miami Beach from around the world to see what this city built. Your home could be part of what they’re here for. That kind of recognition is something no renovation budget can manufacture.
Ready to explore it?
The Planning Department is genuinely glad to help — and experienced enough to make the process feel straightforward, not daunting. Reach out to start a conversation about your home’s history, and see where it takes you.
Based on original text by Jo Manning with William Cary