Will Miami Beach voters let a luxury office space lease city land until 2132?

Miami Beach admin October 22, 2026 0 Comments

Will Miami Beach voters let a luxury office space lease city land until 2132?

An ultra-luxury South Beach office building where Playboy has its headquarters is seeking approval for $50 million worth ofupgrades and an extension of its lease with the city that would run into the next century.

Miami Beach voters will decide whether to approve the deal with developer RK Rivani LLC on the Nov. 3 ballot. If the referendum passes, it would clear the way for 47,000 square feet of new development on the site, including more office space, a restaurant and rooftop padel courts. The proposal would reduce onsite parking from 700 spaces to 475.

It would also give the development firm, headed by Robert Rivani, the option to extend its lease for the city-owned land beneath the office building up to 40 additional years. The current lease term runs through 2052, with the possibility of two 20-year extensions. The current proposal would allow the building, called Rivani, to use the site for 106 more years, or until 2132.

If approved, the proposal is expected to generate around $432 million for the city, .

Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner and five of the city’s six commissioners voted in favor of putting the referendum on the ballot, citing millions of dollars in financial gain for the area. But critics of the lease extension and development plan are concerned about how those funds will be used and whether there will be tangible benefits for residents.

The Rivani office building is located at 1691 Michigan Ave., just off Lincoln Road. The mixed-use building, previously called The Lincoln, reportedly underwent about $40 million of renovations after Rivani’s firm bought it for $62.5 million in 2024. It reopened last month.

Rivani declined to comment on the referendum.

Last year, Playboy Enterprises signed a lease to move into the penthouse of Rivani, moving its corporate headquarters from Los Angeles. Playboy CEO Ben Kohn declined to comment on the proposed upgrades to the building.

The proposal going before Miami Beach voters next month would raise the rent the office building owes the city and require an additional $1.5 million in public benefits.Commissioners have expressed interest in using some of those funds for Blue Zones restaurant certifications, a human-trafficking reporting reward fund, sister cities funding and Lincoln Road improvements.

Rivani would pay $247.7 million in rent payments, plus an estimated $184.1 million in additional rent tied to business revenue. The percentage of revenue paid as rent during the already existing lease would also increase from 2.5% to 3%, which is predicted to bring in an extra $13.3 million for the city over the lifetime of the lease.

During a July meeting, Miami Beach Commissioner Joe Magazine called the deal a “tremendous opportunity” for the city.

Claire VanSusteren, a spokesperson for the political action committee Lincoln Road Strong, which is encouraging residents to vote in favor of the referendum, said in a statement that the proposal would bring “big benefits for residents, without big development.”

But not everyone is convinced. Commissioner David Suarez, who was the sole dissenting vote, raised concerns that the $1.5 million package wouldn’t pay for the infrastructure impacted by the development, like sewage systems.Suarez said it’s “really offensive to the voters” when the city faces roughly $1 billion in unfunded infrastructure needs.

The plans, such as the human-trafficking reporting reward fund, may be worthwhile, Suarez said in a statement, but “with enormous needs involving flooding, roads, water, sewer and stormwater, infrastructure should come first, not individual Commissioners’ pet projects.”

Amanda Knapp, president of the Miami Beach Democratic Club, also took issue with how the $1.5 million would be spent. She added that she’s concerned about the expected loss of more than 200 parking spaces and that there was no competitive public bidding on the project. The club cannot see a clear public benefit or reason to extend the Rivani lease to 2132, Knapp said.

“Everyone who votes on this referendum now will not be around to see what happens in 2132,” Knapp said. “With inflation, interest rates — hello, flooding. … Will there be a Miami Beach in 2132?”

Jessica Pita, 46, a South Beach resident and preservationist, called the deal “just another sneaky proposal to add density and vertical intensity to our beloved Art Deco historic district.” The proposed addition to Rivani threatens what makes South Beach so recognizable and special, she said.

In a statement, the Miami Beach Republican Club said it also opposes the “extraordinary commitment” of handing a private developer the option to control valuable taxpayer-owned property for an additional 40 years.

“We believe the proposed public benefits are largely political pet projects, not meaningful long-term investments for our residents,” the Miami Beach Republican Club said. “No amount of political marketing changes our fundamental objection: this is not a fair exchange for such a significant public asset, and Miami Beach deserves better.”