A development team that bought 10 acres that serves as a fueling station on an exclusive Miami island is proceeding with remaking the site into condominiums — even as Miami-Dade County officials try to seize the land via eminent domain.
The team of Chicago-based HRP Group, Related Group and New York’s Raycliff Capital are planning “an over $2 billion project” on the site they bought last year on Fisher Island, said Roberto Perez, CEO of HRP Group, in a statement to CoStar News.
“We have been actively pursuing the redevelopment" of the site and "will continue to aggressively do so," Perez said.
The 216-acre private island is only accessible by ferry in one of the country’s richest ZIP codes, located about three miles from downtown Miami and just south of Miami Beach. The median home price in Fisher Island is $36.5 million, according to Homes.com.
The 10 acres in dispute serves as a fuel depot for PortMiami, less than a mile away. Despite its status as a $62 billion economic engine, PortMiami is one of the world's only major ports without an on-site facility to fuel the cargo and cruise ships that dock there.
Miami-Dade County is attempting to seize the 10-acre property through eminent domain, a legal process the government can use to acquire land with the requirement that the owners be compensated, because it's an essential piece of the port’s infrastructure.
Development plans
The developers that own the 10 acres are planning to build what they are calling One Fisher Island Residences that includes 49 luxury condominiums in a 12-story tower occupying just over half of the eastern portion of the site, according to a pre-application filed with Miami-Dade County’s building department.
The remaining acreage would include a mix of recreational, lifestyle and service facilities for residents and the Fisher Island Community Association.
“We identified the Fisher Island terminal property as an incredible redevelopment opportunity nearly four years ago, led a world-class partnership to acquire the property in a publicly advertised sale process and, over that period, invested considerable resources to unlock the value of One Fisher Island as the premier residential development site on the entire East Coast,” added Perez in his statement.
Perez told CoStar News that county officials “walked away” from “eight months of productive discussions” that would have seen Miami-Dade acquire the site for $400 million, with $200 million up front and another $200 million over the next 20 years.
“The County finds itself in this position as a direct result of its own incompetence after years and frankly decades of failure to plan for PortMiami infrastructure,” Perez added.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava told the county to proceed with eminent domain action for the PortMiami fuel facility property earlier this month after being unable to reach a deal with the parties involved.
Asked for comment by county officials, CoStar News was directed to a previously released statement from Levine Cava.
“The deal included clear benefits, including County ownership of the facility and a structure that would allow the acquisition to pay for itself over time without spending taxpayer dollars. But in the end, the price was simply too high,” Levine Cava said.
TransMontaigne sold the 10-acre site to the development team in October for $180 million. The Denver-based liquids logistics company entered into a leaseback with the developers and will continue to operate the facility until 2027.
