Miami, Florida Voters Reject Virginia Key Marina Lease and $80 Million Plan

Miami voters have rejected a plan to lease city land on Virginia Key to private marina operators. Referendum 3, on the city ballot on Tuesday, November 3, failed with 65.2 percent of voters against it, according to results reported on Wednesday, November 4. The count was 63,588 votes against and 33,937 votes in favor, or 34.8 percent, with all precincts reporting.

What voters were asked to approve

The referendum asked whether the city should lease about 27.62 acres on Virginia Key to Virginia Key LLC, a joint venture between RCI Marine Group and Dallas-based Suntex Marinas. The lease would have run for an initial term of 45 years, with two possible 15-year renewals. The companies planned an approximately $80 million privately funded redevelopment of the existing Rickenbacker Marina and Marine Stadium Marina.

Under the proposal, the city would have received minimum guaranteed rent of $2.2 million a year, with escalations, totaling about $204 million over the initial term, plus 6 percent of gross revenues. The redevelopment plans called for 750 dry slips and 162 wet slips, upgraded marina infrastructure and fueling facilities, 13,000 square feet of commercial space and 630 parking spaces. Two commercial buildings totaling 19,000 square feet would have been renovated for retail or restaurant use.

Opponents said the ballot hid the full deal

Opposition came from people who work and do business at the marinas now. Save our Marinas, a group opposed to the referendum, said the ballot language was not transparent enough and that the proposal would give away more than the existing marinas, including restaurants and retail space. Adam Gersten, the owner of Gramps Getaway, a business inside the 27.62 acres, questioned whether his restaurant could survive under a new operator and what rent it would face, even though RCI and Suntex said the business could stay. Aabad Melwani, president of Rickenbacker Marina, wrote that he opposed the referendum for several reasons, among them possible damage to Biscayne Bay.

A court fight put the lease on the ballot

The referendum reached voters after a long legal dispute over how the city handled the marina bids. A court ruled in 2023 that the city had acted arbitrarily and capriciously when it rejected the RCI and Suntex bids and advanced a rival bid, even though selection committees had twice ranked the RCI proposal first. The city appealed, and the Third District Court of Appeal upheld the ruling in 2024, which led to the proposal going to a public vote.

The marinas stay under their current arrangements

The no vote means the 45-year lease does not go ahead and the two marinas stay under their current arrangements. The result follows a separate decision in August, when 68 percent of Miami voters backed Referendum 2, allowing Global Spectrum, a subsidiary of Oak View Group, to manage and operate the Miami Marine Stadium under a 10-year contract with three renewal options and a $10 million contribution from the company toward restoring the stadium.