The short version
Miami-Dade County's only marine fuel depot for PortMiami sits on a roughly 10-acre site on Fisher Island. In October 2025, a Chicago-based developer, HRP Group, bought the site for $180 million with plans to demolish the depot and build luxury condos. The county spent months trying to negotiate a purchase that would keep the fuel depot running, but Mayor Daniella Levine Cava ended talks on a deal reportedly worth up to $400 million, calling the price too high. On June 16, 2026, the Board of County Commissioners voted to pursue eminent domain instead, the legal process that lets government take private property for public use in exchange for court-determined compensation. HRP and Fisher Island interests have sued to stop it. As of this writing, the case is still in court and the depot is still standing.
Why there's a fuel depot on Fisher Island at all
PortMiami has relied on this single facility to fuel cruise and cargo ships for about a century, and the port has no on-site alternative. The depot was operated by TransMontaigne before the property was sold.
What changed
In October 2025, HRP Group purchased the site for $180 million. Alongside the sale, HRP reached agreements with the Fisher Island Community Association: HRP would demolish the aging fuel depot, remediate the land, and build a luxury condo project (marketed as "One Fisher Island"), while conveying roughly 4 of the property's acres to the association.
That plan would have eliminated PortMiami's only fuel source, so the county spent roughly seven months negotiating with HRP to buy the property outright and keep the depot operating. The two sides reportedly worked out the outline of a deal, around $200 million paid up front plus another $200 million paid out over 20 years, adding up to about $400 million total. In May 2026, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava ended those negotiations as too costly. Two senior county officials connected to the deal, Chief Operating Officer Jimmy Morales and PortMiami Director Hydi Webb, announced their retirements shortly after, following a combined 35 years with the county.
The eminent domain vote
With a negotiated purchase off the table, the Board of County Commissioners voted on June 16, 2026 to pursue acquiring the site through eminent domain. County officials have framed the depot as essential public infrastructure: without it, PortMiami's cruise and cargo business, a major driver of the county's economy, would lose its only source of fuel.
HRP's CEO said the company would fight the move in court and continue pursuing its condo development. Fisher Island's community association and club have filed multiple lawsuits since the start of 2026 challenging the county's actions, arguing that the depot mainly benefits private cruise companies rather than the general public, and that the county hasn't seriously considered other sites for a fuel depot.
Why it matters beyond Fisher Island
This isn't only a dispute between county government and a wealthy island community. It touches PortMiami's ability to keep functioning as one of the world's busiest cruise ports, a significant source of jobs and tax revenue for the county. It's also a live test of how far county government can go in using eminent domain, a power that, once exercised here, could be used elsewhere. And the abrupt departure of two senior officials points to disagreement inside county government itself over how the situation was handled.
Where things stand
As of early August 2026, the eminent domain case and the related lawsuits from Fisher Island interests remain in court, and no ruling has settled ownership of the site. We'll update this page as the case develops.