Spotlight 165-251216

Good morning. What we’re covering in today’s Spotlight:

  • Derelict Boats at Dinner Key
  • A Last-Minute Grant from Outgoing Mayor 
  • A Development Deal for Public Spaces 
  • A New Lease for the Sailing Club  

For some, life on the water is a refuge; for Biscayne Bay, it’s becoming a burden. Miami’s new anchoring restrictions aim to curb a growing fleet of decaying vessels threatening Dinner Key’s fragile ecosystem.

By Mike Clary

Once she was a stately double-cabin trawler, capable of crossing oceans from her 1983 Taiwanese birthplace to the clear blue waters of South Florida.  Who knows where she tied up along the way, who captained the boat, what stormy seas she may have traveled?
 
What we do know is that the 38-foot Marine Trader called Procyon ended her days right here, keeled over in a seagrass bed near Coconut Grove’s Dinner Key, waves lapping over her starboard side, just one of many wrecked and decaying boats that now deface Biscayne Bay like scars. 


In his last week in office, Mayor Francis Suarez secured City Commission approval for a grant to a for-profit events company — after organizers warned a venue change could hurt profits.

By David Villano

The Miami City Commission last week approved a $250,000 grant requested by outgoing Mayor Francis Suarez in his final days in office, steering the bulk of his discretionary spending to a for-profit events and branding company based in California.

The grant, approved unanimously and without discussion at Thursday’s City Commission meeting, was awarded to Mascot Sports, a sports and entertainment marketing firm that produces endurance, fitness and wellness events for major brands.


A facelift for Kirk Munroe Park and Fuller Street in Coconut Grove is all but assured after the Miami City Commission agreed to allow the Allen Morris Company to spearhead improvements to both public spaces.

By Jenny Jacoby

The City of Miami has made it official: Kirk Munroe Park and Fuller Street in Center Grove will be getting a makeover, and the design process for both parcels of public land will be guided by a private development company with a stake in the outcome.

In a unanimous vote Thursday, the City Commission struck an agreement with the Allen Morris Company to redesign two public spaces that flank the company’s proposed Ziggurat luxury development at the corner of Grand Avenue and Matilda Street.

The proposed overhaul of the two public spaces is expected to cost $5 million, with $3 million coming from the City of Miami and $2 million from Allen Morris Company. 


The Miami City Commission has approved a new lease agreement with the Coconut Grove Sailing Club at its waterfront location on South Bayshore Drive.

By Spotlight Staff

Fears to the contrary, the Coconut Grove Sailing Club is not going anywhere, at least not for a while. 

The Miami City Commission granted the club a new lease last week that will allow the club to remain in place for the next 40 years. 

As part of the lease, the club agreed to construct a new seawall and replace two docks, with dredging, on the city-owned property at 2990 South Bayshore Drive – improvements that are expected to cost $3.75 million. 


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