The Deal

What am I actually voting on?

Whether Miami hands roughly 27.62 acres of public waterfront on Virginia Key — Rickenbacker Marina, Marine Stadium Marina, and three more waterfront parcels the ballot never mentions — to Virginia Key LLC on a lease built to run until roughly 2101. The ballot calls it "45 years with two 15-year renewals." Do the math it doesn't do for you: seventy-five. Our answer is NO.

Who is Virginia Key LLC?

On paper: a joint venture of RCI Marine Group and Suntex Marinas of Dallas, Texas. In practice: private equity. Centerbridge Partners — a New York private-equity firm — invested in Suntex in 2021, and Suntex's chairman, William Rahm, is simultaneously Centerbridge's global head of real estate. Same person, both jobs, per their own press release. Since 2024, they've been on a $1.25 billion marina buying spree — Suntex is now the largest standalone marina owner in the country, and still buying. "Virginia Key LLC" is the local-sounding name on the paperwork. The money is private equity. The return address is Dallas — and Wall Street.

Who manages the public waterfront land and runs the marinas today?

The City of Miami itself manages the public waterfront land and operates Marine Stadium Marina - clearing about $744,000 a year for the City, per the City's own ledger. Rickenbacker Marina is run by a Miami-based operator under a monthly City lease. Both are open, working, and earning more for Miami right now than deal on the ballot. Voting NO on November 4th keeps the City more profitable and your public waterfront, yours!

Does the ballot describe the whole deal?

No — and the City proved it. The executed lease conveys five separate parcels: 3301, 3605, 3501, 3311, and 3511 Rickenbacker Causeway, including restaurants, retail, and uplands. Essentially a mall hiding the shoreline. The City's own authorizing resolution, R-26-0254, recites all five addresses in its caption. The City described the property fully everywhere except the 69 words you'll actually read in the voting booth.

The Money

Why do people call it a 2017 deal?

Because it is one. The financial terms were set in 2017 and a court order bars the City from renegotiating them — so they went to your 2026 ballot frozen. Since 2017, your rent, your insurance, and your grocery bill have all gone one direction. Your costs didn't stay at 2017 prices. Theirs will — until the 2090s.

Isn't the $80 million investment good for the City?

A pending lawsuit alleges the $80 million figure is not an enforceable obligation in the executed lease: no required construction schedule, no penalties for underinvestment. A promise you cannot enforce is a press release, not a contract.

What does 'environmentally sensitive' mean in the lease?

According to the lawsuit, nothing enforceable. The executed lease contains no environmental performance requirements matching that ballot promise.

Is it really 75 years?

Effectively, yes. The two 15-year renewals belong to the tenant, not the City, so Miami has no leverage to walk away at year 45.

Is this about better public parking and access?

The lease reportedly allows the tenant to modify parking at its sole discretion. The ballot presents it as a firm commitment; the contract treats it as flexible.

The History

Didn't Miami already vote on this?

In 2021, Miami voters rejected a 75-year lease of this same public waterfront — 52.74% NO, with every precinct counted — and that deal offered the city a higher rent floor and more promised investment than this one. This version gives Miami even less. They didn't listen. November 3 is how you repeat yourself.

So why is it back on my ballot?

A court settlement — not public demand. Litigation forced the measure forward on the old terms, which the City is barred from renegotiating. Nobody knocked on doors asking for this. A judge's order put it here.

Who wrote the words I'll see on my ballot?

Ask the City Attorney — he answered on the record, June 11, certified transcript: the ballot language "is negotiated," the City "demand[s] buy-in from the plaintiff," and "the court never reviewed that ballot language." The words in your voting booth were negotiated with the company that profits from them — and no judge ever checked their work.

Didn't a judge already side with the City?

Partly — and we won't spin it. In August 2026 the court declined to pause the referendum. But the core claim — that the lease shortchanges Miami on fair market value — is alive and set for trial in September 2027. That's after you vote. Courts move slowly; ballots don't. On this deal, the deciding vote isn't a judge's. It's yours.

Didn't the City Commission approve this?

Under legal compulsion — commissioners were required to place a referendum on the ballot, and they said so on the record on June 11. Being forced to ask the question is not the same as endorsing the answer.

Voting NO

A court ordered this election. Doesn't that mean I should vote yes?

No. A court can order an election. It cannot order your answer. This waterfront land was gifted to residents decades ago and that why only residents can give it away. A NO vote defeats this lease, full stop.

Won't voting NO leave the marinas to fall apart?

The marinas are open today, run fine today, and send Miami about $2.5 million a year today. A NO vote closes nothing and cancels nothing that exists — it forces a restart at 2026 prices instead of 2017 prices. The only thing NO demolishes is a bad deal.

Isn't this campaign just a front for the current marina operator?

Here's the cleanest proof it isn't: the organizer of this campaign led the 2021 NO campaign — against a lease that would have benefited today's operator. We said no then, too. The principle hasn't moved in five years: nobody gets a 75-year lock on Miami's public waterfront. Not Private Equity. Not anybody.

Does this affect Historic Virginia Key Beach Park or the nature areas?

No — hopefully not, as long as they don't receive approval to dredge the natural seagrass beds. The historic beach and the island's protected natural areas are not part of this lease. What is: five parcels of working public waterfront, for up to 75 years. Different acres. Same question: who is Miami's waterfront for?

How To Vote

Who gets to vote on this?

Only registered voters living inside the City of Miami. Coral Gables, Key Biscayne, Miami Beach, Doral, Hialeah, and unincorporated Miami-Dade do not vote on this measure. If you're a City of Miami voter, your ballot is one of the few that counts here — use it.

When and how do I vote?

Tuesday, November 3, 2026. By mail: request by Oct 22; your ballot must be received by 7 p.m. on Nov 3 — postmarks don't count, so mail it early or use a drop box. Early voting: Oct 24–31. Election Day: your precinct, 7 a.m.–7 p.m. Register or update your address by October 5.

Where is it on my ballot?

Near the end. November 3 is a statewide general election — Governor, Congress, the works — and this question sits down-ballot. Vote every race, flip your ballot, and don't stop until you've voted NO on the Virginia Key marina question.

How do I check my registration?

Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections voter lookup — takes two minutes. Do it today; fix anything before October 5. Check your voter registration