The City of Miami will consider lifting the annual 10-event cap at The Hangar through the end of 2026, a year after commissioners approved a similar exemption for the privately-operated Dinner Key venue.
The Miami City Commission on Thursday will consider whether to again waive limits on special events at The Hangar, the privately-operated Dinner Key venue that has become a flashpoint over noise, traffic and the private use of public waterfront land.
A resolution sponsored by District 2 Commissioner Damian Pardo would suspend the city’s 10-event annual limit for the publicly-owned property, just north of Miami City Hall, from April 23 — the day of the vote — through the end of 2026.
The legislation confirms the property has already reached its limit for the year.
Even so, additional events are already being promoted — including a roller staking event next month and the four-day Pinta Miami art fair in December — raising questions about whether the operator is proceeding on the assumption the cap will be waived.
Under city code, publicly-owned venues are limited to 10 special events per year, with each event lasting no more than 14 days. The code allows the City Commission to waive those limits.
The waiver would be the second one granted. Last June the commission approved a similar Pardo-sponsored waiver exempting The Hangar from the 10-event cap through the end of 2025.
The property is part of the larger Regatta Harbour complex operated by Coconut Grove-based Grove Bay Investment Group under an 80-year lease with the city.
The Hangar, housed in a historic former seaplane facility, has over the past three years hosted concerts, art fairs, corporate activations, private functions and a range of other events.
So far this year, it has staged the five-day Montreux Jazz Festival Miami, the Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival, and a sumo wrestling exhibition, among other events.
It has also drawn repeated complaints from nearby residents who say such events bring excessive traffic, noise and late-night disruption to the surrounding area.
The venue also has been the focus of broader questions about whether its current use is consistent with what voters were promised when the city approved the lease for the publicly-owned waterfront site more than a decade ago.
As previously reported by the Spotlight, Grove Bay’s proposal and the city’s lease documents described the hangar in marine-retail terms, not as a large-scale event venue. The lease’s permitted uses include marina operations, marine services, restaurants and retail, along with uses contemplated in the original proposal.
Financial questions have also surfaced.
The Spotlight previously reported that Grove Bay appears to be classifying The Hangar’s operations as retail for lease-payment purposes, paying the city a flat rent tied to square footage rather than a percentage of gross event revenue.
Under that arrangement, the city is collecting $10 per square foot annually for the hangar space, far below the market waterfront retail rates that can exceed $100 per square foot in Coconut Grove.
Read more: The Hangar at Regatta Harbour: From Bait to Birkin Bags
The distinction matters because The Hangar now functions as what its own marketing describes as an event space. If event revenues were treated differently under the lease, the city’s return could be higher.
The city has not publicly explained why The Hangar’s current rent structure remains in place or whether event-related revenues from the facility are being fully captured under the lease. Grove Bay has not publicly answered those questions either.
Separate from the lease issue are zoning and permitting questions. Spotlight reporting last year found that The Hangar did not appear to have a certificate of use specifically authorizing it to operate as an event venue, even as special-event permits were routinely issued for activity there.
That issue surfaced again earlier this year, when city officials advanced a separate ordinance that would have amended the historic preservation code to explicitly allow “event venues” in locally designated historic structures. Although framed as a citywide change, The Hangar was widely viewed as the most immediate beneficiary.
Read more: City to Consider Ordinance Affecting The Hangar
Facing public opposition, especially among Grove residents in the South Bayshore Drive condo corridor, the proposal was indefinitely deferred.
Pardo did not respond to the Spotlight’s request for comment regarding Thursday’s measure.
Damian Pardo won by 200+ votes. There are almost 3000 residents affected by our Dist 2 commissioner’s poor choices.. The South Bayshore Drive Condo Alliance has repeatedly expressed dismay at the Wild West that is being created at Regatta Park. Thumping music is routinely heard at 3am. And now this article points out the lack of proper rent collection by our City. Maybe we wouldn’t need a 450,000,000 dollar bond to repair the buildings of our emergency responders, if our City enforced its contractual agreements. I urge the other commissioners to realize how this neighborhood has changed. It is full of kids!!! Families and full time residents. And, if they do pass this request, have guardrails that protect the surrounding family neighborhood.
If the justification for this waiver is to generate additional revenues for the City, then why not collect the standard waterfront market rate of $100 per square foot in exchange for this favor. It’s not as if they are hosting “marine retail events” per the promises made to City leaders to secure their favorable lease.
And just curious, do the additional revenues stay in Coconut Grove? Because it would be unfair if the residents of D2 (particularly along South Bayshore drive) suffer the burden of additional traffic and noise, but then have to share the financial benefits with other Districts.
Why is there a 10 event limit if the Commission can suspend that limit? Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of having the limit?
What am I missing?
It would be so nice if the City placed a greater value on protecting the resident’s quality of life than on enabling profits for special interest groups.