Dolphins owner Ross has spent over $1 million on Deauville referendum in Miami Beach
Stephen Ross, owner of the Miami Dolphins and the Related Companies real estate firm, has poured over $1 million into promoting a Miami Beach ballot referendum that would pave the way for him to build a new hotel and condo tower at the former Deauville Hotel site, campaign finance reports show.
A report issued Friday shows that an entity affiliated with Related contributed $1.05 million between Sept. 9 and Oct. 7 to “YES For A Safe and Strong Future,” a political committee that has flooded Miami Beach voters with mailers, text messages and video ads in recent weeks seeking support for the Nov. 8 ballot question.
The entity, listed as “TRCLP - NY DEVELOPMENT,” is a Related affiliate based in New York, where the firm is headquartered.
The ballot question asks voters whether to approve a substantial increase in floor-area ratio — a method of regulating building size — to let Ross move ahead with plans for a 125-unit luxury condo tower and a 175-room hotel at the site of the shuttered historic hotel at 6701 Collins Ave.
Ross is proposing a 375-foot high condo tower in an area with a current 200-foot height limit.
Further details of the project, which is being designed by world-renowned architect Frank Gehry, have not yet been released or approved by the city, which will negotiate with the developers if voters approve the referendum zoning measure.
If approved, the ballot question would require the developers to provide an unspecified “public recreational facility” and access to the beach.
With demolition of the Deauville underway, some activists and historic preservationists say the city and developers need to do more to save the character of a local gem that fell into disrepair. Others say it’s time for a fresh start and that the project will help spruce up the North Beach neighborhood.
Ross could not be reached directly for comment, but a representative for the ballot referendum campaign said in a statement that “the community is excited to see this referendum passed and to bring this project to life.”
“We’re funding this campaign to ensure that the facts about this transformative project, its multitude of direct community benefits and its compelling vision for a better North Beach are shared with voters,” campaign spokesperson Scott Pollenz said.
At a July meeting of the Miami Beach City Commission, Ross, who is from the North Beach neighborhood, said the project has personal meaning for him.
“It’s a dream for me to be here to talk about a project like this,” he said. “It will rebuild and lift a whole community.”
Commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez cast the lone vote against placing the referendum on the ballot, saying the project’s design fails to pay homage to the Deauville, which was built in 1957 and famously hosted a Beatles performance on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in 1964. The hotel has been closed since an electrical fire in 2017. The city of Miami Beach has sparred in court with its owners, the Meruelo family, over millions of dollars in code violations as the property has languished.
Campaign finance reports show the PAC has spent over $600,000 of the approximately $1 million contributed by Ross, including more than $290,000 to Edge Communications — a firm run by political consultant Christian Ulvert — as well as about $160,000 to Michael Worley’s MDW Communications and over $100,000 to Mercury Public Affairs.
Money to other campaigns
Other campaign finance reports show who else is bankrolling campaigns in Miami Beach — and highlight the major role that Ulvert, an ally of Mayor Dan Gelber, and Worley are playing in the process. Ulvert’s firm is involved in campaigns for six of the city’s eight Nov. 8 ballot questions.
Developers Integra Investments and The Peebles Corporation have contributed $225,000 apiece to “Yes For A Strong Miami Beach,” a political committee promoting two controversial leases of city-owned surface parking lots near Lincoln Road to build office space.
That PAC has spent nearly $300,000, according to a recent report, including over $170,000 to Ulvert’s Edge Communications.
Another PAC, “YES to Protect Our Neighborhoods,” has received $100,000 from Komar Investments, the owner of the Marriott Stanton hotel on Ocean Drive that would benefit from a ballot question providing building-size incentives to convert the hotel to a residential building.
The committee has paid over $17,000 to Edge and nearly $20,000 to Worley’s MDW Communications, records show.
Edge and MDW are also receiving funds from “For Our Miami Beach Quality of Life,” which is promoting a ballot measure to incentivize residential or office uses on Washington Avenue between First Street and Second Street and could allow an office building at 119 Washington Ave. to expand its footprint.
At the same time, Ulvert and Worley are consulting for the campaign of Sabrina Cohen, one of five candidates to fill the late Mark Samuelian’s seat on the Miami Beach City Commission.
A PAC chaired by Cohen, Miami Beach Residents for Progress, has reported $59,000 in contributions, the majority of which has gone to MDW.
Cohen’s campaign account has separately reported $84,000 in contributions, with expenditures to Edge, MDW and Mercury.
Laura Dominguez, Samuelian’s life partner and one of the candidates for his seat, has reported about $245,000 in campaign donations, including $150,000 of her own money. She is also soliciting contributions to a PAC, Coastal Communities Matter, that has raised over $70,000 since September. The committee has reported $6,000 in spending to a North Miami-based consulting firm, Voter Analytics LLC.
A separate PAC is promoting a $159 million bond measure for arts and culture facilities in Miami Beach. Live Nation, which operates The Fillmore theater, has donated $100,000 to the committee.
This story was originally published October 17, 2022 at 5:03 PM.
