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The Miami-Dade Bar Association (MDB), one of the largest lawyer networks in Miami-Dade County and the state, closed on a $3 million loan with Intercredit Bank in late December 2021.
“This is the culmination of many months of work,” MDB president Sabrina Puglisi said.
In 2020, immediate past president Jane Muir and the association’s executive committee embarked on an ambitious plan to completely renovate the 1960s-era, five-story headquarters located at 123 NW First Avenue in Downtown Miami.
The project will increase the square footage from 18,000 to a total of 22,000 by bringing the elevator up to the fifth floor. The building will be completely gutted and have new electrical, plumbing, and HAVAC systems, which currently date back to the building’s original construction.
“Once completed, member attorneys will have access to a business center and a hospitality suite environment including work areas, meeting rooms, a lounge, and a place to store personal belongings while in court,” explained Bret Berlin, the association’s executive director. “These additional benefits complement existing offerings from the MDB such as networking opportunities, access to continuing legal education programs, community service opportunities, as well as discount programs and professional liability insurance products.”
The bar association’s pro bono programs, which provide free and low-cost legal services as well as lawyer referral services for the general public, and Dade County Legal Aid will continue to operate on the first and third floors. Additionally, sister voluntary bar associations will have the opportunity to host their own meetings and events at the MDB’s headquarters.
The MDB has selected J. Stephens Construction for the project and construction is expected to be completed in the fall of 2023.
“The Miami-Dade Bar is committed to its members and this initiative reflects our mission to be the preferred voluntary bar association in the county,” Puglisi said.
Founded in the early 1900s, and officially incorporated in 1920 by a handful of attorneys, the Miami-Dade Bar today serves the more than 19,000 barred attorneys in the county and continues its mission to support and inform, educate, and serve the county’s lawyers and the community at large.
