Watson Island developer found in default
Written by Miami Today on May 30, 2017
Miami city commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday afternoon to find developer Flagstone in default of a ground lease of city-owned property on Watson Island after 15 years of little to no construction of the upland planned mega resort Island Gardens.
As sponsored by Ken Russell, the commissioners on a roll call vote approved this: “A resolution directing the city manager to issue a notice of default to Flagstone Island Gardens LLC of the amended and restated agreement to enter into ground lease … and the amended and restated ground lease(s) … due to failure to commence construction as required by these agreements; and further directing that the city attorney and independent auditor general conduct an analysis of these and any other related agreements with Flagstone to determine if there are other breaches.”
The vote came at the end of a more than four hour special city commission meeting. The Watson Island lease of city property was the only topic.
The intent of the agenda item was that the city reclaim the property from Flagstone.
Peter Ehrlich
May 30, 2017 at 8:42 pm
This is great news for residents and stakeholders of the City of Miami. It is also great news for residents and stakeholders of the City of Miami Beach. Watson Island is a gateway to both cities. Vice Chairman Ken Russell showed great leadership as he asked for the item to be put on the Agenda and as he made his case for termination. Obviously, the final chapter has not been written but this is a welcome step. Now people can dream about Watson Island and what it might now become.