Miami Looks At Making Regatta Harbour Garage A Condo To Net Taxes

Miami city commissioners are considering a formal move that would help capture tax revenue from a portion of the city’s newest municipal parking facility, the Regatta Harbour Parking Garage.

At its meeting on Decenber 9th, the City Commission is to consider a resolution to direct City Manager Art Noriega to change the form of ownership of the property on the Coconut Grove waterfront so that portions can be subjected to ad valorem taxation and other parts remain open to the public and tax exempt.

The resolution authorizes the manager to convert the city-owned land at 3351 Pan American Drive, referred to as the Regatta Harbour Parking Garage, to a condominium form of ownership for purposes of ad valorem taxation. It further authorizes him to execute a declaration of condominium, articles of incorporation, by-laws, and any other documents needed to establish a condominium there.

The move comes as overall redevelopment of the city-owned waterfront into Regatta Harbour is finally moving forward in earnest. Regatta Harbour is a public-private partnership between the City of Miami, the Department of Off-Street Parking (Miami Parking Authority) and Grove Bay Development Group LLC.

After many years of delay due to various factors, from litigation to the weather, the first phase was completed in 2019 with its marina. Grove Bay and the TREO Group spent $5.5 million to overhaul the former Grove Key Marina site. Next came the Regatta Harbour Parking Garage, with its foundation of commercial spaces, which opened in August 2020.

The overall project is to remake the waterfront in an area that for years was home to Scotty’s Landing and The Chart House restaurants, adjacent to Miami City Hall.

A background memo on today’s resolution notes the city and Grove Bay Investment Group LLC entered into a lease Oct. 24, 2013, for city-owned property at Pan American Drive for development of a full-service dry storage marina and ancillary marine-related services.

The lease contemplated development by the Miami Parking Authority (MPA) of a garage including ground floor retail on the property. The city and MPA entered into an agreement Feb. 8, 2016, with their respective obligations. On the same date, the city, Grove Bay and MPA entered into an agreement on their obligations regarding the garage property.

“Grove Bay’s use of the Parking Facilities pursuant to the Parking Agreement may subject the Property as a whole to ad valorem taxation,” reads the memo. “Converting the Property to a condominium form of ownership shall separate the property into defined units, which will allow the Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser to tax Grove Bay separately for the leasable area, while the remaining portion of the Property remains open to the public and tax exempt.”

Tenants began to set up shop in the garage’s ground floor this year with the May opening of Anatomy, a progressive fitness program that integrates exercise with sports science, wellness and beauty. The developer announced on Sept. 1 that Wells Fargo had officially opened in the garage.

Regatta Harbour is slated for completion in 2022. The Arquitectonica-designed development is to have more than 100,000 square feet of entertainment, retail and restaurants.

 

Source: Miami Today