Once envisioned as the retail centerpiece along Coconut Grove’s working waterfront, a former seaplane hangar on historic Dinner Key is now a playground for the well-heeled.
Over 10 days last April, fans of the French luxury brand Hermès, maker of the $14,000 Birkin handbag and other high-end consumer goods, descended upon the Coconut Grove waterfront for a “cinematic and poetic performance,” as promotional materials described it, a dazzling multimedia production highlighting the quality and craftsmanship of Hermès products.
Wings of Hermès is but one in a long list of high-profile events staged at The Hangar at Regatta Harbour, part of a larger entertainment complex on seven acres of city-owned property on historic Dinner Key. Over the past two years the venue – built in 1934 to house seaplanes — has hosted concerts, art fairs, wine tastings, fundraisers, sumo wrestling, boxing matches and much more.
And the list is growing. In June, at the urging of Miami District 2 Commissioner Damian Pardo, the city commission unanimously agreed to exempt, for all of 2025, The Hangar from rules that limit city-owned facilities to ten special events per year.
Early next month, radio station Amor 107.5 will sponsor a concert featuring the Spanish pop stars Pablo Alborán and Melendi. The crowd, city records show, is expected to set a record for events hosted by The Hangar.
But the growing lineup of events underscores a larger question: How did a city-owned facility pitched to voters more than a decade ago as a marine retail store — selling bait, fishing gear and boating accessories, in support of a broader working waterfront — become a high-capacity special-event venue for, among others, luxury brands and their wealthy clientele?
More pointedly, are such events — which have drawn the ire of nearby residents for the crowds, traffic and noise they produce — even permitted under Regatta Harbour’s 80-year lease with the city?
A look at the lease for the property — signed in 2014 by the City of Miami and Grove Bay Investment Group, the owner and operator of the Regatta Harbour complex, including The Hangar — suggests they are not.
To preserve a mixed-use, publicly accessible waterfront over the life of the lease, the agreement spells out the “permitted uses” within the property and its facilities: marina operations, boat repair and other marine services, restaurants and retail, along with any additional uses “contemplated” in the proposal pitched to voters.
And a look at the proposal — both the technical version filed with the city and the promotional one shared with residents — reveals no reference to hosting concerts, fairs, and other special events. The building that now houses The Hangar was promised, in one widely distributed rendering, as “marine retail” and in another as “soft commercial.”
And whatever the promise, city records raise questions about The Hangar’s suitability as a venue for hosting large-scale events. The city’s Zoning Department has confirmed that the address tied to The Hangar lacks a certificate of use, or CU, a kind of city authorization for a type of business at a particular address confirming that it complies with zoning, building and safety codes.
In fact, despite multiple business operations within the seven-acre Regatta Harbour complex, records show only two valid CUs – one for boat storage and the other for a 5,543 square-foot restaurant with 264 seats, which appears to match in size and seating the adjacent Bayshore Club.
The Hangar is listed in city records at 20,000 square feet and has accommodated as many as 1,600 people, according to the city’s Fire-Rescue Department.
City officials will not say how or why special-event permits are routinely issued for The Hangar without a certificate of use in place for the venue.
Nor will they comment on the more fundamental question of whether The Hangar constitutes a “permitted use” under Grove Bay Investment Group’s binding lease agreement.
Pressed to answer, Department of Real Estate and Asset Management Director Andrew Frey, who oversees all leases for city-owned property, said he simply didn’t know.
“It seems like a previous administration and [department] director made a determination and I’m not here to reopen that can of worms,” Frey said in a recent interview with the Spotlight.
Frey also deflected questions about The Hangar’s certificate of use and whether it was allowed, under city rules, to function as an event venue. “My department does not issue CUs so I wouldn’t know about that.”
And yet he should know. The lease – which Frey says his department is charged with enforcing – is highly dependent on valid certificates of use to determine the monthly rent owed the city. For instance, the Bayshore Club restaurant pays a set percentage of its gross revenues in rent, while the marina operations pay a different percentage of its revenues. In all, there are seven individual reporting units within Regatta Harbour, each with rent tied to its CU.
Not unexpectedly, rent payments for The Hangar, or anything fitting its description, are not spelled out in the lease.
Instead, the Spotlight has learned, The Hangar, despite its own website’s description as an “event space,” is classifying its operations as “other permitted retail” – a lease provision that pays the city a flat $10 per square foot per year, or about $200,000, regardless of overall sales.
It’s quite a bargain. Regatta Harbour pays just $10 per square foot for The Hangar, even though an independent appraisal in 2022 estimated that retail space in the complex could command between $55 and $85 per square foot annually. Today, some prime commercial storefronts in Coconut Grove are fetching upward of $100 per square foot — meaning the rent being paid is barely a tenth of what the market might bear.
Because The Hangar pays the city a flat monthly rate, its revenues are not reported.
Grove Bay Investment Group CEO Francisco Balli did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Questions submitted in writing, at the request of the group’s attorney, have not been answered.
Pardo also declined to speak with a Spotlight reporter for this article. But in June, speaking on a Zoom call with constituents prior to his vote in favor of waiving The Hangar’s special-event limit for 2025, he spoke of The Hangar’s importance as a community asset that supports nonprofit organizations. He offered no details. The commission voted to approve the waiver unanimously.
Regatta Harbour officials may have anticipated the outcome. The city approved a similar Pardo-sponsored waiver a year ago, allowing The Messi Experience, an interactive exhibit focused on the global soccer icon, to run 20 consecutive weeks. And records reveal that not only was The Hangar scheduling new events far into 2025, but it exceeded its 10-per-year limit for 2025 — with city approval — even before the commission agreed to the waiver.
Exactly how many events The Hangar will host this year is unclear. City officials insist that some smaller events may be held without special-event permits — despite clear city rules that make no distinction based on size.
A year ago, the city launched an audit of the Regatta Harbour property, including operations at The Hangar. The findings are still pending, a city spokesperson said, and the report has not been released for public review.
Meanwhile, Frey says his department “constantly monitors all city ongoing leases for compliance.”
What’s not clear is who, within the city, is charged with fixing any violations it finds. “It’s a team effort over here at the city,” Frey said, “and we have to balance a lot of different factors, so sometimes it depends on the totality of the circumstances.”
Typical City of Miami corruption story. A vague contract that favors a tenant at the City’s expense. Commissioner Pardo gives special treatment to a special interest, then refuses to speak to a reporter.
Another reason why I don’t trust the City of Miami.
HERE HERE!!
FOR TRUE
I love reading The Spotlight with my morning coffee. But then I read this article and I start to get dizzy. I know what is happening–at about the same locale as my old favorite restaurant Scotty’s Landing—and it’s just so wrong in so many ways!
Then I start to think: “Well, if the City won’t enforce its own rules, I am a citizen of that City, and I have an obligation to DO SOMETHING!”
But then I remember that the City has jacked up the fees for anyone to complain administratively. And I know maybe it would be cheaper—and get a quicker response—to write to Santa instead.
So how about if I file a citizen’s lawsuit? Hmmm. That’ll be expensive, too. And I’ll first need to do a public records request of the City to get my facts straight. The City charges by the page. And once I do that, the Courts always seem to require something called “Standing to sue” and I don’t live within 500 ft. of the hangar.
And—Gulp—what if I get sued in one of those “Slap suits” brought by the Fatcats staging these events who are making millions there????
I think maybe it’s better to just add a little bourbon to this coffee.
SANTA CAN HELP US WAY MORE THAN THESE CORRUPT CITY OFFICIALS!!
I helped out at an event at the Hangar in 2023. The mayor came to speak. I remember it was raining and water was streaming down the interior posts where the electrical outlets were. I was seriously concerned about a fire. Hopefully they’ve upgraded since. Although the lack of CU is absolutely unacceptable. A private company would not be allowed to operate, period.
Bring in the marine retail and restore us as a true maritime destination.
The Doors performed at this hangar, in the legendary concert in 69, where Morrison, had to stand trial, for alleged exposing himself on stage ( which didn’t happen, my older sister was there )