The Miami City Commission approved a Watson Island land sale that will allow the Motwani family’s Merrimac Ventures and BH3 to develop a plot on the southwest side of the island into a mixed-use project with a condo component.
The proposal drew criticism from residents, who called it a “bad deal” and urged commissioners not to rush the vote.
“Residents have sued the city because of the issue with Watson Island before, and have taken a vote to ensure the sale of Watson Island is of fair market value,” Miami resident Gilbert Palacios said. “We can use responsible and good development in our city like we have done in the past. … This is a bad deal for the city, a bad deal for residents, a bad deal for workers.”
Commissioner Ralph Rosado was the sole no vote. Rosado wanted the city to hire Cushman & Wakefield to complete an independent appraisal of the property.
“At this time, I would like to be confident that we’ve negotiated the best possible deal for the city, and I’m not there at the moment,” Rosado said. “I do think that there is room to make this a better deal that’s more responsive to our residents and our taxpayers. … Not only do I think that there’s room for additional public benefits, but I have concerns about the fact that the purchaser could, in fact … turn around and flip the property, and that has major consequences.”
But Rosado’s motion failed to pass, and instead commissioners approved the sale resolution. The commission had deferred taking action, most recently at a November meeting.
The controversy stems from an appraisal that found the land could be worth between $257 million and $342 million, the Miami Herald reported. But the developers say that the existing long-term lease devalues the land.
It’s been more than a year since 64 percent of Miami voters approved the sale of about 3.2 acres at 888 MacArthur Causeway to IG Luxury, the BH3-Merrimac venture.
The price of the land is now pegged at $29 million. As part of the deal, the developers will provide $9 million that’s to be used for affordable housing and infrastructure improvements. The city will also negotiate the release of deed restrictions on the land with the state for $4 million. (Voters also approved a referendum to sell land on the east side of the island to Terra and ESJ Capital Partners.)
The change will allow the developers to build about 100 condos instead of previously approved timeshare units. The developers will continue to lease the remaining 7-plus acres of land that the city is retaining ownership of.
BH3 and Merrimac formed a joint venture in 2023 to take over the lease from the former developer, Mehmet Bayraktar’s Flagstone Property Group. Flagstone was tangled in years of delays and litigation with the city of Miami. Voters approved Bayraktar’s deal via a referendum in 2001, but his firm only completed a portion of the then-planned project.
At Thursday’s meeting, commissioners deferred a final vote on a proposal that would allow developers to double their density in specific neighborhoods, starting with Edgewater.
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