Stalling could jeopardize the entire negotiation, Raquel Regalado warned after a Miami-Dade County committee postponed a vote on a 99-year lease agreement to redevelop the former Miami Seaquarium site on Virginia Key after commissioners received a 249-page document hours before the session.
The Recreation, Tourism, and Resilience Committee voted three to one on November 10 to defer the contract with Resilient Aquarium LLC, a company linked to David Martin’s Terra Group.
The proposal would transform the historic marine park into an 83,000-square-foot aquarium without marine mammals, a marina, restaurants, and public spaces overlooking Biscayne Bay. Management of the Miami-Dade property would be handed over to a Terra Group-affiliated entity spanning a 99-year timeframe.
García said that the document arrived barely 20 hours before the meeting. Commissioners Micky Steinberg and Marleine Bastien also raised concerns over fast-tracked procedures, including waived public notices and property appraisals.
District 7 Commissioner Raquel Regalado, whose district includes Virginia Key, cast the sole vote against the delay. Regalado warned that stalling could jeopardize the entire negotiation, leaving the county with an outdated contract offering fewer public benefits.
Regalado hosted a webinar with the developer into the evening on Wednesday. Maintaining that better conditions could still be negotiated, he proposed that the issue might be brought back through a special session or evaluated straight by the County Commission. The last regular meeting of the commission in 2026 is scheduled for November 17.
The latest master plan includes 295 water slips and dry storage for 552 boats, alongside a marine research center partnering with the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School.
Environmental advocates argue that the high boat density threatens seagrass meadows and manatee populations in the Virginia Key area. The company incorporates the restoration of the dome designed by Buckminster Fuller and Flipper House, and it also foresees a 118,000-square-foot marine research and innovation center in collaboration with the Rosenstiel School of the University of Miami.
State wildlife officials previously reviewed a plan for 877 vessels and advised capping slips at 250 due to vessel-strike mortality risks. Reynolds said the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is reviewing data.
Developer-commissioned research disputed those findings. Dr. Jerry Ault concluded that local waters do not serve as a primary habitat or major transit corridor for manatíes.
However, Dr. Jeremy Kiszka countered that the waters around Virginia Key and Key Biscayne function as essential warm-water refuges and feeding grounds.
The associate professor of biology at Florida International University has studied South Florida manatees since 2012 and said that his research, alongside county and state data, demonstrates that the area is an important habitat.
Terra Group faces a federal bankruptcy court deadline of December 30 to complete the lease acquisition following the previous operator’s bankruptcy filing in March 2025 and park closure in October 2025. Company attorneys warned that prolonged delays could cause creditors to pursue alternative solutions.
Simultaneously, residents Aaron Stauber and Gregory Frankel filed a lawsuit under Article 7 of the county charter to demand a countywide referendum on the marina development. Frankel emphasized governance and public participation, saying the future of the Seaquarium site should be up to every county resident. The Seaquarium itself is exempt from Article 7 of the county charter.
The Seaquarium site should be up to every county resident, Frankel said.