Miami, FL
Port to court: Miami-Dade approves eminent domain move in Fisher Island fuel yard fight
Miami-Dade is going to court to seize a fuel yard it passed on buying.
In an 11-1 vote, the County Commission authorized Mayor Daniella Levine Cava to pursue eminent domain against the privately owned fuel depot on Fisher Island that supplies PortMiami.
The move targets a roughly 10-acre fuel tank farm that Chicago-based developer HRP Group purchased last year for about $180 million and later offered to sell to Miami-Dade for $400 million.
Levine Cava and the Commission balked at the offer this month, calling the price unreasonable for the depot, which has served the port for more than a century.
Commissioner Raquel Regalado, who cast the sole “no” vote, warned against running headfirst into a potentially costly property-seizure fight.
“This is a decision that will impact this county for the next 50 years,” she said. “It should not be made lightly.”
Commissioner Oliver Gilbert, who is running for Congress, sponsored the authorizing resolution. He told reporters after Tuesday’s vote that it’s “insane” to expect to buy a property and flip it only months later at a more than 100% markup, the Miami Herald reported.
Cruise industry executives from MSC Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean appeared at County Hall in support of the measure, characterizing it as vital to the port’s future.
Under Florida’s eminent domain law, Miami-Dade must now observe a 30-day negotiation window before it can formally file a petition for the property.
Deputy Mayor Roy Coley said the county wants to settle on terms Levine Cava would accept, but stopped short of saying whether Fisher Island residents — who are suing both the county and HRP — would be part of those talks.
If no agreement is reached, a jury will set the price.
HRP blamed the county for the issue, saying in a statement cited by NBC Miami that “years and, frankly, decades of failure to plan for PortMiami infrastructure” led to the current impasse. The company said it intends to contest the taking and see its planned residential projects through.
HRP’s local partners in the venture include “condo king” Jorge Perez’s Related Group and developer Russell Galbut, a former Board Chair of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings.
Tuesday’s vote follows months of political turbulence that early this month resulted in the ouster — announced as resignations — of two senior officials, Chief Operating Officer Jimmy Morales and Port Director Hydi Webb, as criticism mounted over how the county managed negotiations.
Miami-Dade had repeatedly let opportunities to acquire the property to slip by, including after a special Commission meeting last September.
Should the legal battle stretch past next May, when HRP’s contractual obligation to keep the fuel flowing expires, the county has discussed emergency alternatives, among them deploying a barge to keep ships supplied.
The Miami Heat are bringing a familiar name back to South Florida.
The Heat announced Monday that the team has signed veteran guard Tim Hardaway Jr.. As is team policy, the club did not disclose the terms of the agreement.
“Hardaway is obviously a great name around here,” Heat President Pat Riley said in a statement. “Tim Jr. is one of the most explosive shooters in the league and a player we have long coveted. We are thrilled to finally be able to bring him home.”
The move marks a homecoming for Hardaway Jr., who attended Miami Palmetto Senior High School before beginning a 13-year NBA career.
Last season with the Denver Nuggets, Hardaway Jr. appeared in 80 games, making six starts, and averaged 13.5 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 26.6 minutes per game. He shot a career-best 40.7% from three-point range while connecting on 224 three-pointers — the second-most in a single season in Nuggets franchise history.
Hardaway Jr. scored in double figures 57 times during the season, including 17 games with at least 20 points and one 30-point outing. He also knocked down multiple three-pointers in 57 games, including 13 contests with five or more made shots from beyond the arc.
Over his NBA career, Hardaway Jr. has played in 893 regular-season games, including 428 starts. He owns career averages of 13.7 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists while shooting 36.5% from three-point range and 81.5% from the free-throw line.
The veteran has reached the playoffs seven times and was part of an NBA Finals team in 2024.
His return to Miami carries added significance because of his family legacy. Hardaway Jr. is the son of Tim Hardaway, whose No. 10 jersey hangs in the rafters at Kaseya Center. The younger Hardaway will also wear No. 10 with the Heat, continuing a number synonymous with one of the franchise’s most celebrated players.
The signing adds veteran experience and perimeter shooting to Miami’s roster as the Heat continue preparing for the upcoming NBA season.
MIAMI — Christian Martinez was at the Metrowest Detention Center on Monday, facing charges for stealing three gold bracelets, a gold chain, a pair of shoes, and $100 at gunpoint after a crash in Miami, records show.
Martinez, who turns 30 on Wednesday, was driving his gray Honda Odyssey when he crashed in the Liberty City neighborhood, threatened two victims, and “displayed a silver handgun that was tucked in his waistband,” according to the police report.
While demanding cash, Martinez, of Allapattah, grabbed the gun and pointed it at the victim’s rib cage before also using the firearm to strike him “across the face,” according to the police report.
One of the victims escaped, and the other was injured during the armed robbery shortly after 4:10 a.m. on June 28 at Northwest Seventh Avenue and 52 Street, according to the police report.
“I obtained CCTV footage that captured the entirety of the robbery,” a Miami detective wrote, according to the police report.
Surveillance video shows Martinez at the Shell gas station at 5343 NW 7th Ave., before the armed robbery on June 28, and license plate readers show him “traveling northbound through the intersection of Northwest Second Avenue and 54 Street at 4:15 a.m., according to police.
Martinez’s face “can be clearly seen in this video,” a police officer wrote about the surveillance at the gas station, according to the police report.
Miami police officers arrested Martinez at 7 p.m. on July 2 at Northwest Sixth Avenue and 69 Street, and found a firearm in the car, according to the police report.
Corrections booked Martinez, also known as Christian Martinezguerra, shortly before 10:05 p.m. on July 2 at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
Martinez-Guerra faced two felony charges in Miami-Dade County: Armed robbery with a deadly weapon and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. A judge placed a pre-trial detention hold.
Local 10 News Assignment Editor Mercedes Cevallos contributed to this report.
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