A vote this week on historic preservation rules is expected to shape the future of special events at a city-owned waterfront property in Coconut Grove that has drawn growing complaints from nearby residents.
The Miami City Commission on Thursday will consider a proposed ordinance that could formally legitimize special event use at The Hangar, the controversial, city-owned venue at Regatta Harbour on Coconut Grove’s waterfront.
A planned vote on the measure last month was deferred.
If approved, the ordinance would amend the city’s historic preservation code to explicitly allow “event venues” as a permitted use within locally designated historic structures, such as The Hangar, one of five adjacent waterfront buildings constructed in the 1930s to house seaplanes.
Coconut Grove-based Grove Bay Investment Group operates The Hangar and other adjacent properties under a 80-year lease with the city.
City officials say the change is intended to eliminate ambiguity in the code by defining event venues as an allowable category, rather than a conditional or case-by-case exception, and to support the adaptive reuse of historic buildings.
Nearby residents, who have long complained about noise and traffic from events at The Hangar, contend the proposal amounts to a retroactive fix — reshaping the code to legitimize a venue that has already been operating year-round without clear authorization.
A Spotlight investigation last fall found that the facility has not been issued a certificate of use, or CU, which is required to authorize a specific business operation, and that it is paying only a fraction of the rent comparable waterfront commercial space would typically command.
If approved, the ordinance would provide the zoning framework needed to issue such a certificate, potentially resolving a long-running administrative gap. Although the ordinance would apply citywide to historic structures, The Hangar is widely seen as its most obvious beneficiary, given its steady lineup of scheduled events. Other properties, such as downtown’s Alfred I. DuPont Building and Edgewater’s Miami Women’s Club, could also qualify.
