The Price Tag on Paradise

From marinas to nightlife hubs, Coconut Grove’s publicly owned waterfront has quietly become Miami’s most profitable cluster of private leases — generating millions of dollars a year for city coffers.

Prized for its million-dollar views, Coconut Grove’s waterfront isn’t just scenic — it’s an asset the City of Miami has turned into a steady, and very lucrative, source of cash.

While the City of Miami has issued dozens of private leases for publicly owned land, two of the three highest-grossing are both nestled along the Coconut Grove waterfront, together producing more than $5.3 million in the most recent fiscal year.

The figures come from a public records request filed by the Spotlight, which reviewed lease payments for city-owned properties across Miami.

The city owns nearly the entire 1.5-mile stretch of Coconut Grove waterfront from Peacock Park to Kennedy Park.

Overall, privately leased, city-owned waterfront properties in Coconut Grove generated more than $7.4 million in gross payments last fiscal year. 

Leading the list is Grove Bay Investment Group LLC, operator of Regatta Harbour — a seven-acre entertainment complex featuring the Bayshore Club restaurant, Regatta Grove bar, The Hangar special-event venue and a 300-slip dry-rack marina. 

In the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30 the complex generated nearly $3 million in city lease payments, making it the single highest-grossing private lease on city-owned property anywhere in Miami. (A Spotlight report last fall questioned the deal’s value to taxpayers.)

Close behind at No. 3 citywide, bringing in $2.3 million to the city, is Coconut Grove SMI LLC, the private operator of Bayshore Landing — a marina and retail complex on South Bayshore Drive that includes Monty’s Raw Bar, retail tenants such as Starbucks, and 111 wet slips capable of accommodating boats up to 130 feet. 

Further down the ledger, at No. 10 citywide, is Grove Harbour Marina, a wet- and dry-slip complex that also includes The Fresh Market grocery store, and which generated $1.19 million in city revenue.

Glasshouse Coconut Grove, which operates the Glass & Vine restaurant in a portion of the Peacock Park community center, kicked in another $344,000 in lease payments.

Three nonprofits also appear on the list, though with significantly lower payouts to the city. The U.S. Sailing Center near Kennedy Park and the Coconut Grove Sailing Club, at the base of McFarlane Road, generated about $42,000 and nearly $600,000, respectively. Both groups signed lengthy lease extensions with the city last year.

Community sailing organization Shake-A-Leg, whose lease stipulates in-kind youth programming services to the city, paid $1,559 for use of its waterfront facility last year.

Not included in the rankings is Dinner Key Marina, a city-owned and operated facility which officials say is the largest municipal marina in the United States, with 587 wet slips. Last year, after raising fees, the city raked in a whopping $8.2 million in dockage, mooring and related fees.

Much of the marina sits behind Miami’s iconic City Hall, a historically designated building that could become obsolete once the city consolidates operations in a new eight-story administrative complex now under construction at Miami Freedom Park near Miami International Airport.

Local historic preservation advocates worry that once the new building is completed — currently slated for late 2027 — the city could be tempted to follow the path of other waterfront properties in Coconut Grove and lease City Hall to the highest bidder.

A city spokesperson said no decision has been made about City Hall’s future.

Top 10 Highest-Grossing Private Leases on City-Owned Property (FY 2024-25)

1. Regatta Harbour — $2,997,904
2. Florida Power & Light — $2,810,000
3. Bayshore Landing — $2,303,657
4. Hyatt Regency Miami— $2,119,475
5. Bayside Center Ltd. Partnership — $1,939,496
6. James L. Knight Center — $1,909,940
7. Rickenbacker Marina — $1,794,071
8. Rusty Pelican Restaurant — $1,710,147
9. Bayside Center Ltd. (Garage) — $1,370,488
10. Grove Harbour Marina — $1,189,502

(Coconut Grove properties (in bold) accounts for three of the city’s top 10 highest-grossing private leases — including two of the top three.

Private Leases on City-Owned Waterfront in Coconut Grove (Gross Revenue, FY 2024-25)

1. Regatta Harbour — $2,997,904
2. Bayshore Landing — $2,303,657
3. Grove Harbour Marina — $1,189,502
4. Coconut Grove Sailing Club — $598,532
5. Glasshouse Coconut Grove — $343,924
6. US Sailing Center — $41,915
7. Shake-A-Leg — $1,559