Club Space Reopens Thursday, and Here Are the Changes at the Ground and Floyd

To those who thought Club Space's announcement of a summer closure in order to necessary upgrades to its emergency exits was actually the venue saying goodbye forever, you were wrong: Club Space and its sister venues, the Ground and Floyd, are back in operation starting on Thursday, September 19.

You can't blame people for not believing the "renovation" excuse. There are countless examples of nightclubs that announced they were closing for renovations, only never to reopen.

What's most impressive about Club Space's summer closure is the speed at which it occurred. There is no doubt that the partners at the venue wanted to reopen as soon as possible, but, usually, the biggest roadblock to that sort of thing happening isn't because of construction delays or a lackadaisical attitude — it's the bureaucratic red tape. Inspections need to happen, and paperwork needs to be signed off, which can take a frustrating amount of time. The fact that Space was able to get the necessary work done and approved in a timely manner is nothing short of a miracle.

"A lot of the improvements are structural, so there are things that people will never see," Coloma Kaboomsky tells New Times. "The major improvement is actually a saving grace from the urban development that's happening all around us, where with the help of the actual developers, our landlords, and all the different agencies in the city, we were able to devise a plan to keep Space alive."

The biggest change Space veterans will notice is that the staircases, including the one that led up to the terrace, now lead down to NE 11th Street instead of the alleyway behind the building. That alley will eventually disappear when the E11even Residences construction happens.

In addition to that, the ground-level spaces, Floyd and the Ground, have also seen extensive renovations. The Ground has eliminated the VIP spaces at either end of the room, making for a more expansive dance floor, as well as a new lighting scheme. While the team will continue to book live acts, the main focus moving forward will be to have a space for dance genres like drum 'n' bass, electro, dubstep, and other more underground genres that aren't perhaps a good fit for the terrace.

"All the genres that don't have a home in Miami and are all over the place or not being done in such high frequency, we're going to be putting on the Ground and fostering those communities," Kaboomsky explains.

When the Ground isn't in use, it will also serve as a lounge area for those looking to take a break from the terrace's classic marathon sets and get a bite to eat.

One of the things the team is most excited about is the Ground's rebranding, complete with a new logo, which is more in line with what they hope the space will become. "It's more representative of the actual programming going on there," Kaboomsky adds. "It feels timeless and modern at the same time, and it really speaks a lot about what we're trying to do at the Ground."

Meanwhile, Floyd has also seen dramatic changes. One of the stairwells on the eastern side of the building went over the lounge's existing bathrooms, so they had to be torn out and completely redone. The lounge itself also got rehauled.

"A brand new bar, a brand new bar floor again, things that people will likely not notice, but it will improve service," Kaboomsky shares. "And more room inside of Floyd. The stage to the right of the DJ booth will now be part of the dance floor, and when we do have something live or any sort of offering that requires a stage, we'll simply build a riser there. But for the majority of our programming, which is DJ-centric, the stage will now be a part of the dance floor."

Anyone familiar with Miami nightlife lore knows Club Space opened in 2000 a block west of its current location under the stewardship of Louis Puig, instantly bringing life to Miami's Park West district. Puig and many other would-be nightclub investors were lured by the special zoning of the area that allowed for 24-hour liquor licenses. The lucrative exemption was created to spur development in the blighted downtown area just south of I-395.

Over the decades, plenty of other nightclubs popped up in the area, like Metropolis, Nocturnal, Heart, and Studio A, hoping to take advantage of the after-hours crowd; however, only Space endured. The club moved to its present location in 2003, briefly changing its name to Space 34 to reflect the new address at 34 NE 11th St. After a few changes in ownership, the current crop of partners, including David Sinopoli, Davide Danese, and Kaboomsky took over in 2016, injecting much-needed new blood into the venue, which at that point was in danger of falling into irrelevancy.

Then, in 2019, Insomniac, the event promotions company best known for Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas, acquired a stake in the venue. At the time, the partners announced the news as necessary to ensure the venue's continued survival.

With such a long history — a rarity in Miami's nightlife scene — it's possible that people letting loose in Space's early days now have children partying at the same venue.

Check out Club Space, Floyd, and the Ground's upcoming schedule of events below: