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By now you would think that Miami residents would be used to public giveaways of waterfront
property gone wrong. But even by Miami standards, Coconut Grove’s Regatta Harbour, is first
among peers in the “Bait & Switch” category.
In May of 2013, Grove Bay Investment Group submitted an amazing 200-plus page proposal to the City of Miami that made promises including numerous parks, four restaurants, two boat launches, marine retail, an aviation monument, and much more. Voters supported the fantastical proposal, which turned out to be fictional.
MYSTERY OF THE MISSING RESTAURANTS
A Friday happy hour at Regatta Grove will make you feel as though Miami River’s “The Wharf”
was simply relocated to the Grove. Hundreds of patrons, often several rows deep gathered
around an enormous bar clamoring for the attention of a bartender while diners roam the
shipping container food garden. The problem is that Regatta Grove should not even exist. Aside
from a massive bar/club not being in the proposal, the area is not supposed to have a facility
whose sales are principally from alcohol sales. That space was supposed to be a Shula’s and
Oceano both providing high-end fine dining.
Grove Bay Investment Group promised five restaurants. Three fine dining and two casual
concepts. Only two exist, one from each category. Grove Bay was going to share revenue with
the city or pay a minimum guaranteed rent, whichever was greater. With only two of five
restaurants open, millions of dollars in projected revenue for the city will never materialize.
GREEN SPACE PROMISED, PARKING LOT DELIVERED
It is a time-honored tradition for developers to promise parks in return for development rights
and then scarcely deliver. That tradition was upheld at Regatta Harbour.
There were at least four substantive parks promised in the approved proposal between the City
of Miami and Grove Bay, including a unique Banyan Tree Park that would highlight the essence
of Coconut Grove. None of these parks exist and yet there is fake turf which currently hosts the
“Messi Experience.” The parks and green spaces were supposed to be roughly one third of the
total area and instead the largest of the park areas is a paved over surface parking lot.
MEET THE MISSING AMENITIES:
- Historic Aviation Monument
- Floating Tourist Docks
- Marine Retail Store (ala ‘Crooks & Crooks or WestMarine’)
- Convenience Store
- Signage on the North Side
- New Boat Launches
- All of the 400 Boat Racks (presently, at least 100 are missing)
The list of undelivered deliverables is long and disappointing, but the shear lack of oversight
and accountability on the part of the City of Miami is shocking.
It gets worse, Grove Bay promised between 20,000 and 30,000 sqft of retail space where the city would either be paid rent or share in revenue – all of which never materialized. According to Grove Bay’s own projections the city could be losing out on millions of dollars.
It is no surprise that Grove Bay Investment Group was willing to promise anything and everything to acquire a one-of-a-kind waterfront property, but the complete disregard for the residents and taxpayer dollars by city officials is revolting. And yet it happens again and
again…
SO, NOW WHAT?
While much of the damage has been done, the city should and could extract some concessions. First off some of the park spaces can be restored. The Banyan Tree Park can be built. The city needs to do a comprehensive audit of what the city is being paid and if the city is collecting revenue on the never discussed massive events space that has replaced the non-existent retail space.
Something needs to be done about the bar/club Regatta Grove because it is not compliant and
it is not in keeping with the stated vision of the land. Again, in lieu of the voter approved fine
dining options, a makeshift shipping container food court reminiscent of the Grove Arts Festival
stands in its place.
PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS
In addition to the before-and-after photographs we provided, please click here to review the lease agreement between the City of Miami and Grove Investment Group; and to view the very nice four-color proposal presented in May 2013 to the City of Miami Mayor and City Commission, click here. This original project was billed as a dream come true. And now over 10 years later, it’s nothing more than a pack of promises unfulfilled.
Hope, however, lies with the newly elected Commissioner Damian Pardo, who represents Coconut Grove and was elected as a reformer. When the voters approve a plan and the entire plan turns out to be fictional, there must be consequences.
Commissioner Pardo must shine a light on this offensive “Bait & Switch” and demand changes since the current city leadership has either turned a blind eye or worse, been complicit in a
blatant breach of the referendum the residents voted for – and deserve.
GET MORE INFORMATION
For more information, contact Publisher Grant Miller at 305-3238206 or via email at grant@communitynewspapers.com.
