Turns out City Hall didn’t have the votes tied up with a bow Thursday for that $29 million Watson Island liquidation sale after all. So instead of losing outright, the Miami Commission did what Miami politicians do best: They punted.
They punted so hard the can may have landed in Biscayne Bay.
The highly-hyped vote to hand over 3.2 acres of prime waterfront to BH3 Merrimac for what they call Watson Harbour and what critics call “a massive land giveaway” was suddenly postponed Thursday after commissioner Damian Pardo, who sponsored it, realized the math wasn’t mathing. He  needed four out of five votes to approve the sale. They did not have four. They barely had two.
So, the commission killed the engines and pretended it was about “needing more information.”
What really shook the dais? Probably the fresh appraisal that just dropped, valuing the land between $257 million and $342 million — yes, million with an “M” — depending on development restrictions. Compare that to the $29 million offer, which developers swear is generous because it “buys out the lease,” not the land. Cute. The same appraisal, delivered this week but begun in March, values the lease at $28.9 million. Turns out, it was a terrible lease to begin with.
After the state gets $4 million to lift restrictions keeping it public, that’s $25 million for a piece of land worth at least 10 times that. After you deduct the $20 million the city already paid in a settlement fee to the last lease-holder, that’s $5 million for a piece of waterfront property like no other in Miami.
Read related: Miami’s Watson Island liquidation sale to developers for lowball $25 million
Resident after resident begged commissioners not to approve what one called “the biggest sellout in city history.” And Ladra sees why: Miami voters did approve the sale in concept in a referendum last year that passed with 62% of the vote. But the ballot language said they approved a sale at fair market value, not a clearance rack special.
Specifically it said: “Shall City Charter be amended to revise existing leases at 888 MacArthur Causeway, sell 3.2 acres of leased property to tenant for fair market value of not less than $25,000,000, reduce overall development, extend term 24 years, waive bidding and authorize, at no cost to City: $9,000,000 contribution to affordable housing plus infrastructure improvements; timeshare units become condominiums; mixed-uses to include office; and expanded public waterfront and pedestrian promenade along Biscayne Bay?”
Somehow, it strikes Ladra as very strange that the price tag is the exact $25 million floor, plus the $4 million that goes to the state. That can’t be a coincidence.
Outgoing Commissioner Joe Carollo, who has exactly one meeting left before he’s termed out forever, shocked half the room by becoming the loudest voice pumping the brakes. Carollo? Defender of the public purse? Please. The man can smell leverage like a shark smells blood.
But he wasn’t wrong when he called Watson Island “the most valuable piece of property anywhere in the city limits.”
Miami finally has an appraisal that says so too.
Developer Nitin Motwani complained from the podium that Watson Island feels cursed. Every time they take “two steps forward,” they get knocked “three steps back,” he said.
Ladra’s translation: “Why won’t the city just give us this land already?”
Read related: Miami City Commission to consider two Watson Island developments
Motwani and partner Greg Freedman insist the $29 million price tag is totally fair because the existing lease “encumbers” the site. They claim they’ll have invested $150 million by the time this is approved, including more than $100 million to buy out the lease. But wait, wasn’t the lease worth $29 million? It seems to be at least worth $100M.
City Manager Art Noriega acted more like a lobbyist for the developers than a steward for the city. Of course he did — it’s his deal, too. And las malas lenguas say he’s angling for a job because he won’t be the city manager much longer after the mayoral runoff Dec. 9.
Noriega explained that the lease agreement was still in play and that the developers were limited to 105 condo units and 80 hotel rooms. But nobody explained why that lease can’t be changed. Or revised. And that is the problem.
Commissioner Miguel Gabela said the numbers felt fuzzy. And Commissioner Ralph Rosado asked for a one-page summary, aka a cheat sheet for the biggest land transaction in city history. Only Commission Chair Christine King seemed keen to push it through now, invoking the voter referendum like a shield. As if the words “fair market value” mean nothing.
Pardo — the financial guy on the dais who should know the deal stinks — knew he didn’t have the four votes needed and backed away quietly, deferring the first reading on Dec. 11, which is Carollo’s farewell performance (and possibly Noriega’s swan song) before the new mayor and a new District 3 commissioner are sworn in. That means there will be a different commissioner on the dais for the second reading — remember, it needs four votes — and the very real possibility of a fresh mayoral veto.
The next mayor might not be as friendly to Noriega or this rushed waterfront swap as outgoing Mayor Francis Suarez, who needs a new side gig, too.
The real conundrum is this: Is this deal a smart exit from a bad lease? Or is the city about to sell oceanfront gold for pawnshop prices?
This curse on the island? Maybe it’s not the island. Maybe it’s on City Hall.

You can help get more independent, watchdog government reporting of our local government and political campaigns to our community with a contribution to Political Cortadito. Click here. Ladra thanks you for your support.

The post Miami blinks on Watson Island deal — kicks can, saves face, still smells fishy appeared first on Political Cortadito.

Read Full Story

Just when you thought Miami’s mayoral race couldn’t get more absurdly partisan — like, more partisan than it already was with President Donald Trump diving in from his gold-plated Truth Social bunker to endorse former city manager Emilio González — here comes the Democratic National Committee, belly-flopping into the runoff like it’s the Iowa caucus.
Sí, it’s true. The DNC has decided it is “all in” for former Miami-Dade Commissioner Eileen Higgins in a municipal race that is officially nonpartisan but has now become a national proxy war between the MAGA machine and the MSNBC dream.
Somewhere, the old Miami-Dade Elections Department is weeping. The new supervisor of elections is making popcorn.
Let’s remember: Ladra already told you back in the general that this thing was turning into a hyper partisan tug of war. Politico has now finally reached the same conclusion — bless their hearts — reporting that the race has become “nationalized.”
Read related: Eileen Higgins heads into partisan Miami mayoral runoff with momentum
Yeah, we noticed. The minute Trump hit “post” on that endorsement for González, half of Miami screamed “¿Qué carajo?” and the other half immediately requested yard signs. So is it really a shock that the national Democrats — who usually treat Florida like a cursed amulet — suddenly want to play here?
Higgins said from Day 1 she’d be the Democrat in the race, even when there were 13 candidates and half of Coconut Grove was still working on their petitions. And that might have been the right message. Because the turnout among Democrats was 5.5% higher than Republican voters, according to data nerd Matthew Isbell, who runs MCI Maps and Data Consulting. But maybe that’s because Trump wasn’t on the ticket. Because last year, Republicans outperformed Democrats by 8%.
This big, fat, very public DNC bear hug the week before the runoff could help drive that turnout even bluer.
The DNC is rolling out a giant, bilingual “GOTV organizing blitz” with phone banks, volunteers from around the country, training sessions for boots on the ground — everything short of parachuting in Rachel Maddow to knock on doors in Shenandoah.
“While Higgins is running a campaign focused on lowering costs for Miami families, her opponent, Emilio Gonzalez, is a former Trump transition team staffer who supports Trump’s toxic agenda that is raising costs and ripping away health care from 1.5 million Floridians,” reads a statement from the DNC War Room.
“Gonzalez represents more of the same Republican aligned leadership that has failed Miami for nearly 30 years.”
Building Democratic power through the Southeast is a top priority for the DNC, particularly on the heels of 90% success rate in national races Nov. 4. That is why Chair Ken Martin announced a historic increase in the national investment in state parties, including $270,000 a year to traditionally GOP states through what it calls its “Red State Fund.” And it is why he visited Florida in March to campaign for Josh Weil in Florida’s 6th Congressional District, where Weil and fellow Democrat Gail Valimont in Florida’s 1st Congressional District overperformed 2024 margins by over double digits.
Read related: Partisan divide is strong in Miami mayoral race, Gonzalez vs Higgins
“When you organize everywhere, you can win anywhere — including here in Florida, where Democrats are fighting to flip Miami’s mayorship for the first time in nearly 30 years,” Martin said in a statement. “Between now and Election Day, the DNC is all-in to elect Eileen Higgins and ensure Miami families have a champion who is fighting for them, not Donald Trump.”
Ah, yes. Because that’s how the abuelas on Flagler like their mayoral contests: framed as a showdown between a local transit nerd and a former president with 91 indictments, a plane donated by Qatar and a golf cart.
Thanks, Washington.
Donna Deegan was elected the first woman mayor of Jacksonville in 2023.
National Democrats are treating this like a chance to prove they still have a pulse in Florida — which, to be fair, has been questionable since 2016. They see a chance to flip a mayor’s office that hasn’t gone blue in three decades and make history with the first woman to ever hold the job.
They see her as the Donna Deegan of Miami, pero with more cafecito and more corruption.
Of course the DNC also loves Higgins porque her campaign is being run by Christian Ulvert, who used to be the political director of the Florida Democratic Party. State and national Democrats love themselves some Christian Ulvert. They think he’s the Florida vote whisperer.
Ulvert says Team Eileen will “welcome all support,” which is consultant for: Yes, please keep dumping money and volunteers into my campaign. Gracias.
Read related: Emilio Gonzalez will ‘clean up’ Miami — but he was there when it got dirty
Meanwhile, Trump’s “complete and total endorsement” of González managed to do something unusual: annoy Miami Republicans. Not all of them — the county GOP chair practically did a conga line in response — but enough rank-and-file GOPers are whispering that Trump sticking his giant orange thumb on the scale wasn’t helpful.
The González camp says they never asked for Trump’s endorsement, but they are leaning hard into it anyway — like it’s a life raft. The retired Army colonel, who has the backing of a lot of our local law enforcement, thanked the POTUS on social media.
“Thank you President @realDonaldTrump, for your endorsement. Miami’s future is on the line, and your support sends a powerful message that our city deserves strong, common-sense leadership.” He also thanked Miami-Dade Commissioner Roberto Gonzalez and Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar — two Republicans known for tossing the red meat — on subsequent posts.
González has also collected endorsements like Pokémon cards: Gov. Ron DeSantis,  Sens. Rick Scott, Ashley Moody, Ted Cruz and Byron Donalds. It’s basically the Avengers of Florida conservatism (plus Cruz) — if the Avengers fought mask mandates and drag queens.
Gonzalez has called Higgins a “soft socialist” — because she rides the bus voluntarily? — and has said that she will use the mayor’s office to oppose Donald Trump’s agenda. He said before the Nov. 4 election that the other choices were all “crooks or commies” and that he won’t let Miami turn into New York or Seattle or Portland. He told the Miami-Dade GOP that “we are all MAGA,” which is a bold claim considering that while Trump won Miami-Dade last year, he lost the city of Miami narrowly to Kamala Harris.
We are not all MAGA.
Both candidates swear they’re not running as partisans and will represent all Miamians. They have focused their campaign points on the things people care about — affordability, flooding, transportation, and housing.
Read related: Eileen Higgins: An engineer who wants to run Miami like a well-oiled machine
But try telling that to the DNC, which is salivating at the chance to notch a win in Florida, or to Trump, who sees González as the next MAGA mayor and a chance to flex in a county he believes he has single-handedly turned red.
This is no longer a Miami mayor’s race. This is a proxy battle in a national divorce.
And Ladra, sitting here with her cortadito, is just wondering whether all this outside meddling will turn off the independents, the moderates, and the Miamians who just want their garbage picked up on time.
The truth this race was winnable on good local politics — reform, transparency, bringing trust back to City Hall — until the national parties stuck their big, sweaty noses in.
Now? It’s anyone’s game. And Miami, as usual, is the playground.
You can help get more independent, watchdog government reporting of our local government and political campaigns to our community with a contribution to Political Cortadito. Click here. Ladra thanks you for your support.
The post DNC goes ‘all in’ for Eileen Higgins in hyper partisan Miami mayoral race appeared first on Political Cortadito.

Read Full Story

Builders get a BOGO special and Miami gets… flooded
Miami commissioners are set to vote Thursday on yet another Damian Pardo special. The Miami commissioners has proposed a shiny new ordinance that would let developers double the allowable density in some of the most flood-prone, overdeveloped corners of the city — as long as they drop a little something into a new “Resilience Trust Fund.”
Because nothing says climate adaptation like building twice as much in an area already underwater.
The plan, which the Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board already waved through in October, would let developers buy their way into supersized projects by paying into a city-managed fund for pump stations, seawalls, raised roads and other resiliency window dressing. Think of it as Miami’s first-ever Build-and-Flood program — the more you build, the more we promise to spend trying to keep it from flooding.
And of course, the first two “Resilience Fund Areas” just happen to be… both in Edgewater. You know, the neighborhood where a regular afternoon rain can stall your BMW for the day.We need more condo towers there.
Oh, and Watson Island, too. Because why stop at Edgewater when you can add incentives right where two mega-developments just happen to be waiting? It’s like playing a game of follow the bouncing bulldozers.
The proposal claims to be targeted at “high-demand areas,” but as usual, Miami’s definition of “targeted” is suspiciously specific. Both RFAs slice through Edgewater from the Julia Tuttle to NE 8th Street — an area already plastered with cranes and high-rise renderings.
Read related: Miami’s Watson Island liquidation sale to developers for lowball $25 million
Just last month, the Urban Development Review Board stamped its approval on a 47-story tower with nearly 500 apartments on Biscayne Boulevard. And Sam Nazarian’s crew is cooking up a branded condo tower down on 29th Street. Miami’s Edgewater is undergoing significant development with numerous residential, mixed-use, and commercial high-rise projects. Major developments include a large-scale Edgewater Collective project, the Braman Motors mixed use campus, the ELLE Residences and Edge House Miami — a 57-story monolith (rendering right) — all contributing already to the area’s transformation into a denser neighborhood. 
Now the city wants to sweeten the deal even more, with a zoning BOGO: Buy one density, get a second one free when you help pay for the pumps.
Developers can even get a 15% discount if they tug on their green cap and offer to do some of the infrastructure work themselves. What could possibly go wrong?
Even the chair of the city’s Climate Resilience Committee, Aaron DeMayo, couldn’t help pointing out the obvious last month. “Somewhat ironic that we’re incentivizing additional development capacity in an area that is already flooding significantly,” he is quoted as saying in the Coconut Grove Spotlight.
Somewhat ironic? It’s Miami. It’s perfectly on brand.
Still, the committee voted to support it. Because of course it did.
Neighbors and urbanists are warning that doubling density — especially in neighborhoods already bursting at the seams — will overwhelm Miami’s already-limping infrastructure and speed up gentrification. If history is a guide: sí, claro.
The ordinance also allows new RFAs to be created at any time by, you guessed it, another ordinance. In Miami language, that’s a standing invitation: If developers want a new hotspot, we’ll draw them a new map.
As usual, Pardo declined to talk about it. But a canned statement in his District 2 newsletter insisted the ordinance will “only apply to a portion of Edgewater.”
Sure. Today. But like every other “only here, for now” zoning gift, it can grow legs at any future meeting when nobody’s watching — or when the right lobbyist is. Las malas lenguas say city staffers have already said they plan to expand to the Transit Oriented Development overlays commissioners approved earlier this year that already jack up building heights and densities around rail corridors. Layer this onto that, and Miami’s development map is starting to look like SimCity played by a teenager with unlimited cheat codes.
Read related: Miami approves TSND zones to bring ‘affordable’ housing to transit hubs
Naturally, neighbors are concerned. A flurry of emails to the commissioner’s office was answered by his community liaison for Edgewater and Morningside, Bradley Mills, who sounded more like a lobbyist than a public servant.
“The proposed legislation…involves the creation of an Edgewater Resilience Trust Fund with the use of density bonuses. This legislation is the culmination of several meetings over many months and comes as a direct response to the request from Edgewater property owners and resident groups,” Mills wrote in an email Wednesday, adding that the climate resilience committee and the planning and zoning board both support the measure.
“The legislation does not double the density in the City of Miami. The double density is already in the city’s comprehensive plan and was adopted in 2017. Applicants can already achieve density increases through the City’s TDR and TDD programs and through our Public Benefits Program. Density can already be increased in certain transects across the city to the same threshold; this program merely offers an additional way to achieve the same density increases allowed in the Comprehensive Plan.”
So, nothing new to see here, folks. Just a little something extra.
Mills says the ordinance simply “unlocks a tool under the Miami 21 Zoning Code for the Edgewater area that builds infrastructure, provides home ownership opportunities, and funds public benefits important to the neighborhood.” There’s that lobbyist speak. He also raised the Live Local Act boogeyman saying it negates “these public benefit opportunities.
“In short, this legislation offers options for the Edgewater community that are important to the area and no other area.”
Not yet.
The commission will likely pass this on first reading — because they almost always do — and kick it to a second reading where developers will show up with glossy renderings and commissioners will congratulate themselves for “addressing climate resilience.”
Meanwhile Edgewater will still flood if someone sneezes on Biscayne Boulevard.
And Miamians will be left wondering: Are we really building resilience? Or are we building the problem faster than the pumps can catch up?
Ladra knows the answer. So do you. So does Pardo.
The city commission meeting starts at 9 a.m. Thursday at City Hall, 3500 Pan American Drive, and can also be seen online on the city’s website and its YouTube channel. The full agenda can be viewed here.

You can help get more independent, watchdog government reporting of our local government and political campaigns to our community with a contribution to Political Cortadito. Click here. Ladra thanks you for your support.

The post Miami: Damian Pardo has a developers’ dream in density-for-dollars deal appeared first on Political Cortadito.

Read Full Story

Rolando Escalona, who got into the runoff for the Miami District 3 seat with former Commissioner Frank Carollo, didn’t just get two new endorsements this week. He got two full-throated “por favor, anyone but a Carollo” testimonials wrapped in veteran creds and political déjà vu.
Both Rob Piper and Oscar Elio Alejandro — the two guys who finished right behind Escalona in the Nov. 4 free-for-all — have climbed aboard the rookie’s runoff campaign. And while they’re saying nice things about Escalona, make no mistake: These endorsements are really aimed squarely at the House of Carollo, where political dynasties go to fester.
Alejandro, who nabbed 12% of the vote, didn’t even try to sugarcoat it. He backed Escalona because he wants to “put an end to political dynasties controlling our local government.”
Translation: Miami has had enough of the Carollo brothers’ time-share on District 3.
He had even tried to sue to block Frank Carollo from the ballot because of the city charter amendment voters passed that implement lifetime term limits for anybody who has already served two terms in any seat. Frank Carollo was commissioner before his brother was, from 2009 to 2017. But a judge denied that motion last week. Frank Carollo stays on the ballot because it would disenfranchise the voters who chose him on Nov. 4.
Read related: Judge lets Frank Carollo stay on the ballot — for now — and voters cry foul
What about disenfranchising the voters who overwhelmingly approved the lifetime term limits with almost 80% of the vote. It’s possible that after almost two decades of one Carollo or the other haunting the dais, they may be ready to change the locks.
And then there’s Piper — a Marine Corps vet who once led a recall effort against big bro Joe Carollo and now gets to oppose Frank Carollo. That’s full-circle Miami politics, gente. Piper said voters spoke “loud and clear against recycled politicians.” Translation: He’s tired of reheated Carollo, too.
So, here we are, heading into a Dec. 9 runoff where Escalona — a restaurant manager turned political hopeful who worked his way from busboy to boss — is up against another carbon copy Miami career politician, complete with family franchise.
And now the two men who finished behind Escalona — who took 17% to Carollo’s 38% in the general — are saying he’s the guy to break the mold.
The candidate says he’s building a “coalition” for integrity, accountability and basic city services that actually work. Imagine that! He’s going to need boots on the ground because Frank Carollo is outraising and outspending him about 3 to 1, according to the last campaign finance reports, with transactions through Nov. 7.
He also keeps saying the election is “about people, not politics,” which is adorable in a place where politics is a full-contact sport often fought with subpoenas and secret recordings.
Read related: Miami voters sue to keep Frank Carollo off the runoff ballot after term-limit win
Still, his story resonates. Eleven years ago, he arrived from Cuba with nothing but ganas and worked his way up to managing 150 employees and earning a political science degree at FIU. Now he wants to overthrow the Carollo regime in Little Havana, East Shenandoah, West Brickell, Silver Bluff and parts of the Roads. Ambitious, sí. But not impossible.
And with Piper and Alejandro — both Democrats — now endorsing a Republican, in a supposedly “nonpartisan” Miami election, you can feel the anti-Carollo coalition forming like a tropical storm.
This isn’t just about Escalona gaining support. It’s about a district that is tired. Tired of drama. Tired of dynasty. Tired of the same last name on the ballot.
District 3 voters get another say on Dec. 9.
And if these endorsements mean anything, Ladra wouldn’t be surprised if what they say is: “Basta ya. Time for something — and someone — new.”

You can help get more independent, watchdog government reporting of our local government and political campaigns to our community with a contribution to Political Cortadito. Click here. Ladra thanks you for your support.

The post Rolando Escalona picks up two anti-Carollo endorsements in Miami D3 race appeared first on Political Cortadito.

Read Full Story

Miami City Hall is at it again, mismanaging public land like it’s a clearance rack at Ross.
The city commission on Thursday will consider what looks like a fire sale on Watson Island, and the only ones getting a bargain are — surprise! — the developers.
On the agenda for the last commission meeting before the city gets a new mayor and a new District 2 commissioner (timing totally coincidental, por supuesto), Commissioner Damian Pardo is sponsoring an item to sell 3.2 acres of Watson Island to IG Luxury LLC — a Delaware company, because of course — for a grand total of $29 million.
Except, not really. Because Miami has to cut a $4 million check to the State of Florida just to lift deed restrictions on the land the public already owns, because it was given with the caveat that it stay public. That means taxpayers net $25 million.
Except, not really. Because the city already had to pay a $20 million settlement in what is arguably a botched lawsuit (thanks “Tricky Vicky” Mendez) from the former lease holder who didn’t do anything for 15 years. That means taxpayers net $5 million.
Read related: Miami City Commission to consider two Watson Island developments
On waterfront land worth at least 50 times as much. It’s at least 10 times the $25 million on paper. According to a new appraisal received Monday — three days before the vote — the land is valued at $257 million “with use restrictions” and $342 million without them.
Why do those numbers matter? Because Miami voters approved a ballot measure last year authorizing the sale of the land for “fair market value” — not a penny less. The actual ballot language said “shall City Charter be amended to revise existing leases at 888 MacArthur Causeway, sell 3.2 acres of leased property to tenant for fair market value of not less than $25,000,000, reduce overall development, extend term 24 years, waive bidding and authorize, at no cost to City: $9,000,000 contribution to affordable housing plus infrastructure improvements; timeshare units become condominiums; mixed-uses to include office; and expanded public waterfront and pedestrian promenade along Biscayne Bay?”
Forget all the bells and whistles, which is what Pardo and Commission Chairwoman Christine King will call “public benefits” Thursday. The key words here are “fair market value.” That is what 62% of the voters approved.
And this ain’t that.
The city is selling Watson Island for about 10 cents on the dollar. Even Walmart marks things down less aggressively.
This is going to be the most valuable land giveaway since, well, the Donald Trump library — and hotel — on downtown Miami-Dade College land.
It’s going to be interesting to watch Pardo defend this and explain why the land is not really worth $300 million. He’s a finance guy, after all. He must know it’s a bad deal. That’s probably why he didn’t return a call and a text from Ladra. Again.
But this is the same guy who tried to cancel this year’s mayoral and commission elections, extending his term by a year, and is under fire from Coconut Grove to Morningside for upzoning and pouring concrete.
Read related: Miami Commissioner Damian Pardo loses support, inspires recall threats
The backup documents insist this deal magically meets the voter-approved “fair market value” requirement because $25 million is the minimum floor written on the referendum. Which is like saying $500 for a 1982 Datsun 280ZX is “fair market value” because someone once paid that price for one in Hialeah. That is not how math works.
Taxpayers have already eaten a $20 million settlement with the first Watson Island developer, who sat on the land for 15 years, did nothing, and still walked away richer than most of the families the city claims this $9 million “affordable housing contribution” will help.
That $9 million — negotiated by Chairwoman King — is laughably tiny considering she is waving goodbye to more than $200 million in new revenue that could actually build, preserve, or rehab affordable housing across the city. It’s like dropping a gold bar into the bay and celebrating because you found a quarter under the sofa cushion.
Developers BH3 Management and Merrimac Ventures — who purchased the lease from Flagstone Island Gardens in 2023 — need four of the five commissioners to vote yes. It would authorize the city manager to negotiate everything — the purchase agreement, the CBA, deed modifications, the quitclaim deed, estoppels, amendments, lender docs… basically a blank check. It would provide a private residential and hotel project for IG Luxury, a subsidiary of BH3 IG — fancy names to distract you from the fact that this is public waterfront land being privatized.
This isn’t a negotiation. It’s a goodbye letter.
And what if Art Noriega is no longer the city manager after the Dec. 9 mayoral runoff? One of the candidates, former City Manager Emilio Gonzalez, has already said he will immediately replace him (maybe with former Police Chief Jorge Colina). Would he or Miami-Dade Commissioner Eileen Higgins, who is in the runoff with Gonzalez, veto this sweetheart deal?
Ladra suspects yes — which is precisely why this is coming up now and not next month.
Pardo’s office is making the argument that the land is actually only worth $25 because that’s what the value of the lease is.
“For background, there was no ‘public’ land on Watson Island as it was under a long-term lease arrangement,” wrote Pardo’s community liaison Bradley Mills in an email to residents last month. “Had this joint venture not moved forward, we would simply have what currently exists on Watson Island (without the below listed benefits and revenue to the City of Miami) plus a 300 room hotel potentially for 74 years.”
Not public land?
The property is “encumbered by the existing 99-year lease owned by BH3 Merrimac,” said Greg Freedman, one of the principals of BH3 with Nitin Motwani.
“The property is subject to existing restrictions limiting what can be developed,” Freedman said in a statement. “The $29 million purchase price far exceeds the minimum sale amount of $25 million approved by voters and reflects the highest valuation calculated by multiple independent appraisers, as approved by both the city and the state of Florida.”
Key word this time: Minimum. The ballot language literally required “fair market value,” not “bare minimum we can get away with.” And how does $29 million “far exceed” $25 million, anyway?
A BH3 Merrimac rendering of Watson Harbour’s promenade
The city charter required the administration to also solicit appraisals of the land on a “fee simple basis,” as if there was no existing lease in place and that led to comparisons that were not fair, the developers argue. These are the appraisals that pegged the property at $247 million without restrictions and $342 million with.
“The City does not own the land on a fee simple basis, has not owned it for more than 20 years, and would not own it for an additional 99 years as the land is encumbered by the lease rights owned by BH3 Management and Merrimac Ventures. To be clear: the City of Miami presently only owns the right to collect contractual rent payments for the next 99 years pursuant to the lease rights owned by BH3 Merrimac,” Freedman said, and it sounds a lot like a ransom note, don’t it?
“BH3 Merrimac is also paying an additional $9 million above and beyond the purchase price as a contribution towards affordable housing, infrastructure, and resiliency improvements in the City,” Freedman added, just for good measure.
Oooooh, how generous. It’s not like you’re getting the deal of the century.
Freedman’s argument is that BH3 Merrimac — which is already calling the project Watson Harbour on its website — has already invested more than $110 million in acquiring the lease rights and making infrastructure improvements to the property ahead of development. “Once this sale is approved by Commissioners, BH3 and Merrimac will proceed with developing the mixed-use destination that voters approved in November of 2024,” he added.
Key words, Greg: “Fair market value.”
Former Commissioner Ken Russell, who just came in third in the Nov. 4 mayoral clusterbunch, says this might feel familiar to Miamians. “This happened with Melreese, as well,” Russell told Political Cortadito, referring to the giveaway of Miami’s only public golf course to Jorge Mas and company for the construction of Miami Freedom Park, a real estate complex disguised as a soccer stadium. “They wanted to pay the value of the land as contaminated, not once it was cleaned up. Just as commissioners can tomorrow, I was able to use my position in that vote to demand the higher appraisal.
“I don’t know what mental gymnastics they’ve had to do to justify this price,” Russell said of the $25 mil.
The developers in this case are also framed as “good guys,” same as Miami Freedom Park, but some might also call them good bandits. Because what they are getting is unprecedented and, frankly, insane. The city is selling a piece of property, not a lease. They should get the value of the property, not the value of the lease.
Read related: Miami Freedom Park gets its full $20 million back for 58-acre public park
“If we’re going to get rid of it forever, and it will no longer bring residual value to the city, I would owe it to my constituents to get the maximum appraised value,” Russell told Ladra. “You go with the highest one, especially in a no-bid situation. You sell it for what it’s truly worth.”
After all, there are single family homes in Coconut Grove that are priced at $25 million — and more.
Expect some public speakers to resist this. Residents. Public land advocates. People who can read a spreadsheet. Anyone allergic to corruption perfume.
But with Pardo and King behind it, Ladra won’t pretend this isn’t greased to pass. Commissioners have a tradition of going along with district commissioner initiatives, even though this would be a huge financial loss for citywide taxpayers.
And Miami has a long tradition of undervaluing its own land so private equity can come in and flip it like a Magic City Airbnb.
Because let’s be clear about this: The city is giving away a piece of Watson Island — some of the most valuable land in the state of Florida — for pennies, while pretending it’s doing the public a favor.
This isn’t a community benefit. This isn’t a fair market value sale. This is a giveaway, plain and simple.

You can help get more independent, watchdog government reporting of our local government and political campaigns to our community with a contribution to Political Cortadito. Click here. Ladra thanks you for your support.

The post Miami’s Watson Island liquidation sale to developers for lowball $25 million appeared first on Political Cortadito.

Read Full Story