Moving Forward on Miami’s Megayacht Marina
By Christina Bohnstengel
The only marina in the U.S. that will cater to superyachts in excess of 450 feet is well on its way to seeing the light of day in sunny South Florida. Island Gardens is set to break ground, so to speak, this fall on Miami’s exclusive Watson Island. Voters approved the plan to build the megayacht marina nearly eight years ago, but a slew of stumbling blocks have kept the developer, Flagstone Property Group, from moving forward with the original schedule. Several extensions have been granted to the developer by the city, possibly due in part to the PriceWaterhouseCoopers 2001 report which indicates that megayacht owners spend 41 percent of their ship’s annual operating budget in port, meaning that tourism dollars trump.
Once complete, Island Gardens will offer yachters of the world two luxury hotels, a shopping complex, and 50 superyacht slips. Shangri-La has been identified as the manager for one of the hotels and residences, while the second manager remains unpublished. The marina will offer the expected amenities like electricity, cable, phone, Internet, in-slip fueling, and security cameras.
Dredging began last fall and the new scheduled opening date is now set for 2012.
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