Miami-Dade mayor rejects $400M port deal negotiated by her administration

Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava on Friday rejected a deal to purchase the fuel yard that serves PortMiami, a move that risks seeing the vital facility on Fisher Island converted into luxury condominiums.

A day after firing two deputies who negotiated the deal with a development group that bought the fuel yard, Levine Cava said a reported $400 million deal to purchase the site was too costly for the county. Instead, she said county lawyers will try to force a sale at a lower price using a government’s eminent domain authority to obtain land deemed vital for the public.

In a memo, Levine Cava acknowledged the deal negotiated by Jimmy Morales, her former chief operating officer, and Hydi Webb, her port director, would pay for itself over 20 years with revenue from fuel sales and other fees related to port operations. “In the end,” she wrote, “the price tag is simply too high.”

Levine Cava, a Democrat, has received harsh criticism from former Democratic congressman Joe Garcia and others for the fuel depot situation. When the privately owned facility came up for sale in 2024, the county failed to buy it. That left the development group, including Miami’s Related Group and Russell Galbut, to purchase the land for about $180 million. They then announced plans for a condo complex there — a project backed by Fisher Island residents.

With the county seemingly close to a deal to purchase the land instead — at a significant profit for the new owners — Fisher Island sued to block the acquisition. One of the objections was questioning the county’s ability to win an eminent domain proceeding.

With Levine Cava vowing a court fight, Friday’s memo could just be the start of a negotiation reset if the owners want to offer better terms. Miami-Dade could also pursue constructing a fuel yard elsewhere nearby — including on the county-owned port.