They add skyscrapers to Miami’s skyline and bring new single-family home communities into existence in southwest Miami-Dade.
But they’re not the developers.
No, they’re the developers’ hired guns: the lobbyists, land use lawyers and consultants who get projects off the ground and across the finish line.
They know the ins and outs of municipal and county government and have tight-knit relationships with politicians and bureaucrats. They’ve mastered the art of cutting through red tape and diffusing controversies. Miami’s developers can’t build without them.
“Hiring lobbyists is a necessary evil, but I happen to like my lobbyists very much,” Coconut Grove-based developer Michael Swerdlow said. “I think they serve an important function in getting things done with the government on a more timely basis.”
In the Miami market, Swerdlow and other major developers often rely on a small cadre who’ve made names for themselves as the go-to operatives for nabbing deals for government-owned land primed for redevelopment, securing zoning changes, approving site plans and obtaining building permits.
Because certain lobbyists have relationships with specific politicians or public employees, developers will hire a handful at once, creating superteams to push a project through.
Yet what developers pay lobbyists is a highly guarded secret in most of Miami-Dade County. Miami Beach is the only local government that requires lobbyists to report how much compensation they receive per hour or on a monthly basis to bend the ears of elected officials and bureaucrats. But the city does not mandate that lobbyists report the total amount of money they make from each project they advocate for.
“Hiring lobbyists is a necessary evil, but I happen to like my lobbyists very much.”
For instance, David Martin’s Coconut Grove-based Terra pays Miami Beach lawyer Rafael Andrade and Miami-based government consultant Brian May $12,500 and $5,000 a month, respectively, Miami Beach’s most recent city lobbyist report shows. The two men handle issues pertaining to a Grand Hyatt-branded convention center hotel being co-developed by Terra and Aventura-based Turnberry.
Michael Larkin, the most sought-after land use lawyer in Miami Beach, charges his clients $825 to $850 an hour, according to the report. Larkin’s law firm partner, Graham Penn, charges $800 an hour. Emily Balter, a law firm associate of Larkin and Penn, gets paid $500 to $535 an hour.
To choose the top seven lobbyists behind Miami’s developers, The Real Deal conducted interviews with and talked to government insiders in Miami-Dade County, then gathered details about the firms and individuals with dozens of real estate clients and the multiple jurisdictions they lobby to determine how lobbyists’ work shows up in the real estate industry. The lobbyists are listed in alphabetical order.
Hugo Arza
Partner with Holland & Knight law firm
When it comes to building residential communities in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Hialeah and Miami Lakes, Lennar Homes and Century Homebuilders Group — two of the nation’s largest single-family-home and townhome development firms based in Miami and Coral Gables, respectively — rely on Arza and his land use team at Holland & Knight to score zoning and plat approvals. Arza, a partner at the law firm, also represents Miami Lakes-based Prestige Companies, the most active developer in Hialeah.
He has worked on political campaigns since he was in college. “I’ve always understood the mindset of elected officials,” Arza said. “A lot of our work is concentrated in South Dade, so the commissioners in South Dade are some of the ones that I will routinely meet with.”
Arza also represents Lennar and Century in Homestead and Florida City. “You’ve got to have relationships and you’ve got to understand how those places work,” Arza said. “If you’re going to be successful, you have to take into account how each of those places operate [in order] to get your client’s needs met.”
Ronald (Ron) Book
Principal of Ronald L. Book, P.A., law firm
Book is the godfather of Miami-Dade’s lobbyist industry. For half a century, Book has been a trusted operative for some of the biggest names in real estate. His most famous client is Stephen Ross, the billionaire owner of the Miami Dolphins and founder of New York-based Related Companies. Recently, Ross splintered his Florida holdings, including his downtown West Palm Beach projects, into a new company, Related Ross.
“He’s been a client for a very long time,” Book said. “We’re probably doing more in Palm Beach County for him than we do down [in Miami-Dade].”
Book also represents Miami-based multifamily developer Atlantic Pacific Communities, Bal Harbour Shops mall owner Whitman Family Development and the Florida Apartment Association. Book’s effectiveness is so well known that many local governments retain his services to do battle on their behalf during the annual legislative session in Tallahassee. His public clients include Bal Harbour, Coral Gables, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Miami Beach, Miami-Dade County and Broward County.
Sometimes, the interests of his private and public clients are at odds. For instance, earlier this year, Bal Harbour Council member Buzzy Sklar floated the possibility of firing Book as the town’s state lobbyist because of his representation of Whitman Family Development, which is seeking to build high-rise apartment towers and a hotel at the Bal Harbour Shops site. The council did not follow through on Sklar’s proposal.
Book insists he has a firewall in place to avoid potential conflicts. “I have an open ability to represent my private clients in front of local jurisdictions I also represent,” Book said. “But I don’t take issues that are in conflict with my clients.”
At the state level, Book is required to report his fees for lobbying legislators and the governor’s office. In the first quarter of 2024, his law firm collected $3.5 million in fees, according to the most recently available lobbyist compensation report. During the same period, Ross’ Hard Rock Stadium, where the Dolphins play, paid Book’s firm between $40,000 and $49,999. Atlantic Pacific Communities also paid the same amount as Ross, and the Florida Apartment Association paid Book’s firm between $20,000 and $29,999.
Iris Escarra
Partner with Greenberg Traurig law firm
As co-chair of Greenberg Traurig’s land use practice, Escarra is a familiar face at Miami City Hall in Coconut Grove and the Miami Riverside Center, the city’s administrative building in downtown Miami. “I work there every day,” Escarra said. “I am talking to city administration folks every day. The commissioners, not so much.” After a three-year stint as a Miami assistant city attorney, Escarra joined Greenberg in 2005 and has spent the past two decades representing developers who’ve reshaped Miami’s skyline with new skyscrapers from Edgewater to Brickell, as well as mixed-use and multifamily projects in Wynwood, the Design District, Allapattah and Little Havana.
“We know where most of the bumps in the road are. We know where the sticking points are going to be.”
Escarra’s client roster includes Miami-based 13th Floor Investments led by Arnaud Karsenti, Miami-based Mast Capital led by Camilo Miguel, Coconut Grove-based Related Group led by Jorge Perez, Miami-based NR Investments led by Nir Shoshani and New York-based developer Nahman Lichtenstein.
“Clients who come back to me tell me that I was very frank with them on what to expect,” Escarra said. “That’s sort of because we’ve been around the block. We know where most of the bumps in the road are. We know where the sticking points are going to be. We try to be proactive in getting past those. Clients really appreciate that.”
Humberto (Bert) Hernandez
Founder of HEH Consulting
Two decades after leaving Miami City Hall in disgrace, Hernandez found his second calling assisting developers navigate political minefields. In the late 1990s, Hernandez was convicted in two separate cases involving voter fraud and bank fraud after twice being suspended from his city commission seat due to criminal prosecutions against him. He was released from prison in 2002 after serving three years.
In recent years, Hernandez returned to his old stomping grounds as a lobbyist. Most notably, he worked for Hyatt Hotels Corp., which is partnering with Miami-based Gencom to redevelop a Hyatt-branded hotel, and the James L. Knight Center on city-owned land in downtown Miami. The joint venture is planning Miami Riverbridge, a $1.7 billion mixed-use project with three towers and a new event space spanning more than 100,000 square feet. One of the towers would house a new Hyatt-branded hotel.
Hernandez also represents Mast Capital, NR Investments, Coral Gables-based Black Salmon Capital and Miami Freedom Park, the partnership of Miami billionaire Jorge Mas, retired soccer superstar David Beckham, Mas’ brother, Jose Mas, and Los Angeles-based Ares Management.
“I have been wrapped up in this world for many years and met so many people, not just elected officials, that have opened doors for me to represent and help these developers,” Hernandez said. “I’ve also worked as a consultant for a lot of the land use law firms. I will meet with the city manager, building director, zoning director or district commissioner to talk about community benefits of a project.”
Michael Larkin
Partner with Bercow Radell Fernandez Larkin & Tapanes law firm
For developers planning a project in Miami Beach, the odds are high that Larkin is their primary lobbyist. A land use lawyer for more than a quarter century, Larkin frequently makes the case for his clients in front of the City Commission and various boards that provide input on zoning changes and site plan approvals. He’s represented Miami Beach developer and Crescent Heights principal Russell Galbut on various projects in the city, as well as hoteliers Ronny Finvarb and Jeffrey Soffer.
Developers who have relocated to South Florida in recent years have also turned to Larkin for their Miami Beach projects. He represents Robert Rivani, president of Black Lion Investment Group, which moved from Los Angeles to Miami last year. Black Lion recently bought a Miami Beach mixed-use building for $63 million and is renovating it into a luxury office building.
Larkin also represented Witkoff, the New York-based and Miami Beach-based firm led by Steve Witkoff, in securing city approvals for the redevelopment of the Shore Club, an Art Deco hotel in South Beach. Witkoff and partner Monroe Capital are reimagining the property as the Shore Club Private Collection, an Auberge Resorts Collection-branded condo and hotel project with 49 units.
Brian May
Partner with Capital City Consulting
In the 1990s, May cut his teeth as a state bureaucrat working for then-Florida Insurance Commissioner Bill Nelson, a Democrat who went on to serve in the U.S. Senate from 2001 until 2018. Following his stint in the state insurance office, May served as chief of staff to then-Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas in 1996. During his tenure, May led the county’s negotiating team that reached a development agreement with the Miami Heat and the franchise’s billionaire owner, Micky Arison, to build the Kaseya Center Arena in downtown Miami.
After leaving Penelas’ office, May entered the world of lobbying, where he’s spent more than two decades representing real estate titans, including Stephen Ross in his efforts to secure tens of millions of dollars in grants for Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. Ross hired May to handle business before Miami-Dade government because his usual lobbyist, Ron Book, has a conflict thanks to his role as the county’s state lobbyist.
May, who did not respond to requests for comment, led negotiations on behalf of Ross to secure a public-private partnership to score county grants to renovate Hard Rock Stadium, as well as securing approvals for the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix race at the same venue.
Other May clients include 13th Floor Investments, Related Group, David Martin’s Coconut Grove-based Terra, Hyatt Hotel Corp. and Coconut Grove-based Grass River Properties. Recently, billionaire hedge fund manager and Citadel founder Ken Griffin tapped May to represent his firm’s plan to build a new supertall office tower in Brickell. The planned skyrise will be Citadel’s future headquarters.
Melissa Tapanes Llahues, Partner with Bercow Radell
Fernandez Larkin & Tapanes law firm
A defining moment in Tapanes Llahues’ land use lawyering career occurred in 2015 when she successfully sought approval for River District, a $1 billion mixed-use project by New York-based Chetrit Group. The project stalled for a few years, but Chetrit revived it in 2022 and is currently building the first phase, which entails a 54-story apartment tower with two retail buildings. When fully completed, River District will have 1,600 residential units, a marina and 30,000 square feet of offices and retail on a 6.2-acre site along the Miami River.
“That was one of the first really big ʻwin-win’ situations that I worked on,” Tapanes said. “It was a project that really made my career take off.”
Today, Tapanes represents more than a dozen real estate developers and investors in the city of Miami, including Miami-based Coral Rock Development Group, New York-based ASG Equities and Moishe Mana, the largest commercial property owner in downtown Miami and Wynwood. She also represents developers in Coral Gables, Doral, Hialeah, Homestead and Pinecrest.
“It’s not always good to drink out of the same well,” Tapanes Llahues said. “If you are just working in one jurisdiction, sometimes it becomes difficult to work outside of it.”