Miami’s Watson Island Superyacht Marina Set To Open December 2015

May 14, 2015

A new superyacht marina in Watson Island of Biscayne Bay in Miami, Florida is set to open in early December, which happens to be the first week of Art Basal. The marina is designed to hold 50 superyachts up to 550′ long.

The deep-water marina is part of a planned, mixed-use development called Island Gardens that has drawn criticism from locals concerned about traffic.

Develops say the project is estimated to cost $1 billion and will include two luxury hotels, a residential building, upscale restaurants, and a luxury shopping center. Those portions of the project are scheduled to open in 2017 and 2018.

Watson Island is publicly owned and connected to the beach and downtown by the MacArthur Causeway and home to the Miami Children’s Museum, also sports a seaplane base and a heliport that provide a link to the Caribbean and nearby airports. The new marina will have its own customs and immigration office.

Flagstone founder Mehmet Bayraktar said the project will stimulate economic activity and generate tax revenue for the city.

“The greatest cities have all kinds of people from all walks of life and all income levels,” Bayraktar said. “That’s what makes them great cities. You need somebody to pay the bills.”

Bayraktar said many of the yachts will be charters with weekly rates starting at $50,000 and going as high as $500,000.

“You want these people shopping in your city and bringing their friends to visit,” Bayraktar said.

He also announced several firms that would handle work on the project.

The architectural firm Nichols Brosch Wurst Wolfe & Associates will design the master plan. Coastal Construction Group of South Florida will handle construction. And Cervera Real Estate will sell the residential units, which will have an unusual twist: Buyers will have the option to purchase the units for only part of the year.

“I wouldn’t call it a timeshare,” said Alicia Cervera Lamadrid, the firm’s managing partner. “It’s like buying a condo, just not for twelve months. You own it when you use it.”

Voters originally approved the development in a 2001 referendum, but construction didn’t begin until 2014. Developers blamed the delay on 9/11 and the economic downturn.

The project is not welcomed by some neighbors due to concerns of traffic jams near their neighborhood.

Source: Nicholas Nehamas, Miami Herald