Miami-Dade to Pursue Fisher Island Site Via Eminent Domain

The Miami-Dade County Commission voted to pursue acquiring the Fisher Island fuel terminal property via eminent domain, escalating the battle over the nearly 10-acre site.

Commissioner Raquel Regalado was the sole “no” vote at the Tuesday meeting, to amend the property description as the county moves ahead with the eminent domain process as previously approved by the commission in October. Earlier this month, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava ended negotiations with the property owner to acquire the site for $400 million.

“I cannot support this item, but I hope I’m wrong,” Regalado said. “I hope that we buy a wonderful property at a wonderful price, and it’s good for decades, but I sincerely doubt that, given the information that I’ve been given by the administration.”

Tuesday’s vote was required to accurately identify the parcels the county wants to acquire.

The county has been criticized for failing to acquire the property when it was on the market. TransMontaigne Partners, the previous owner, put the site up for sale in 2024 and sold it to a partnership that includes HRP Group, the Related Group and Russell Galbut for $180 million last year.

Commissioners agreed that the county dropped the ball.

Commissioner Oliver Gilbert has said the county made a mistake by waiting to negotiate with the buyer instead of the seller.

“In the very beginning, I told you all that we would be here doing this and it would be more expensive,” he said at Tuesday’s meeting. “It was nonsensical to believe that we shouldn’t have negotiated with the people who owned the property versus the people who were buying the property, and so now when they make expectations of cost, we can call it unfortunate, we can’t call it unforeseeable.”

The fuel depot, which serves Port Miami, is at the center of lawsuits brought by the Fisher Island Community Association and the Fisher Island Club. They sued the county and HRP Group this year in separate lawsuits.

As part of HRP’s deal to purchase the property, HRP agreed to demolish the fuel bunk, remediate the land, and develop luxury condos, as well as convey 4 acres to the Fisher Island Community Association.

The county is pursuing the property because if and when it is redeveloped, PortMiami customers will lose access to their primary fuel supply. “The Port Fuel Facility is essential infrastructure for PortMiami, a major economic engine of Miami-Dade County responsible for over $61 billion in annual economic impact and supporting over 340,000 jobs across South Florida,” a county memo states.

Attorney Jason Brooks, a partner in Buchalter’s Real Estate Group, told The Real Deal if the county is successful in eminent domain, it may end up paying “substantially more” than the $400 million deal that was previously on the table. The appraisal process could be the biggest source of dispute and drag on for years, Brooks added. But he thinks the county will ultimately win.

The fuel depot will also require upgrades to bring it up to code, which will be costly. “Doing things in the water and offshore is not exactly easy,” said Brooks, who is not involved in the litigation.

“Under the Fifth Amendment, the government can seize private property for public use as long as there is just compensation. I do think they’re going to be in for a real fight because of the wealth on the island and the contract that exists,” he said.

Fisher Island is home to some of the region’s wealthiest residents and is considered one of the priciest ZIP codes in the U.S.

Roberto Perez, CEO of HRP Group, has said that and characterized the county’s move as an “unconstitutional seizure of our property.” Perez said in a statement that HRP plans to build One Fisher Island, a luxury condo project, on the island.

“The only question now is how much of the public’s time and money the mayor is willing to waste to obscure the numerous poor decisions her administration and the county have made for decades,” Perez said.