Related Group, Galbut Part of Fisher Island Fuel Depot Redev

As the fight over the last remaining development site on Fisher Island heats up, top Miami developers are also part of the mix: Russell Galbut and the Related Group.

Galbut, the Pérez family’s Related Group and Raycliff Capital partnered HRP Group to redevelop the nearly 10-acre property on Fisher Island, a ritzy community that’s only accessible by ferry, boat or helicopter, according to Bloomberg. HRP and partners paid $180 million for the property in October.

Related and Galbut did not respond to The Real Deal’s requests for comment.

The site is at the center of a litigious battle between Miami-Dade County, the developers and Fisher Island residents. Miami-Dade, which was in talks to acquire the property, a fuel depot that services PortMiami and the cruise ships, for $400 million, no longer plans to pursue that deal. Instead, it will seek to acquire the site via eminent domain, the Miami Herald and Political Cortadito reported.

Two top county officials resigned over the debacle: Miami-Dade County’s COO Jimmy Morales and PortMiami Director Hydi Web. “In the end,” Levine Cava wrote in a memo, “the price tag is simply too high.”

HRP’s CEO Roberto Perez said in a statement that it will continue to “aggressively” pursue the redevelopment of One Fisher Island and fight any attempt by the county to acquire the site via eminent domain.

“The County finds itself in this position as a direct result of its own incompetence after years and frankly decades of failure to plan for PortMiami infrastructure. Seizing private property is not the solution for public failure,” the statement reads. “Prior to the mediation process, the county represented to us multiple times that alternate fuel storage options exist and rejected our offer to finance a relocation. We will defend against and defeat any attempt to condemn the property.”

Fisher Island residents also want the fuel depot gone. Months ago, the Fisher Island Community Association and the Fisher Island Club sued the county seeking to halt the county’s plan to seize the property via eminent domain. The county’s interest is to ensure continued fuel supply for cruise ships at PortMiami. The lease is set to expire in 2027.

Last month, the Fisher Island Community Association and Fisher Island Club filed a similar suit against HRP.

Perez of HRP wrote in his statement that the company is not a fuel tank operator.

“HRP’s mission is to remediate, reimagine, and redevelop complex industrial sites to unlock the full potential of these unique projects,” he said. “We identified the Fisher Island terminal property as an incredible redevelopment opportunity nearly four years ago, led a world-class partnership to acquire the property in a publicly advertised sale process” and invested “considerable resources” to unlock the value.