It may have been the Year of the Snake in the Chinese zodiac but on Key Biscayne and nearby, 2025 felt more like a year of future development, or maybe a slice of “out with the old and in with the new.”

In selecting this year’s top news stories, we focused on impact. On substance over noise. On what has the potential to improve the island’s quality of life over the long haul. These stories are not “ranked,” as we recognize it’s difficult to reach consensus on any single “top” news item.

As an Islander News team, we spent time discussing the arrival of well-known Miami developer David Martin, whose Terra Group, along with a roster of architects and planners, has officially planted roots in the Village and along the Rickenbacker Causeway. The projects soon to be underway are likely to shape Key Biscayne for generations to come.

First, Martin gained approval to build a 56-unit luxury condo on the grounds of the former Silver Sands Beach Resort at 301 Ocean Drive, which was purchased for a record $205 million between Terra and Fortune International Group.

Then, he announced intentions, and received approval, to develop the Village’s Entry Block, with plans to build five padel courts (two outside) and a small business center, first to be used as a sales office for the new condos.

He wasn’t done yet. He pulled in one of his architectural associates to draw up a design for a dynamic Rickenbacker Causeway (more on that below) and then paid Miami-Dade County $23 million to take over the Miami Seaquarium lease with plans to turn it into a $100 million Fishermen’s Village, with a marina and boat slips, shops and restaurants, a scenic baywalk, and even an aquarium.

Village Manager Steve Williamson told Islander News there are plenty of positives linked to Martin’s developments.

The new condominium alone, for example, represents a significant investment in the Village of over $600 million, according to Chief Financial Officer Benjamin Nussbaum.

It can provide up to $86 million in ad valorem property tax revenue for the Village over the next 30 years and annual local spending by residents of over $12 million annually.

The project will also generate significant benefit to the local and regional economy during the construction phase, generating $287 million in total economic output and supporting more than 2,200 jobs. Following completion, the projects may support close to 50 jobs and generate $4 million in annual economic impact to the local community, according to the current analysis.

Under the law, Martin will be required to pay $6.7 million in park impact fees due to the increase in population as well as school impact fees that go directly to the Miami-Dade Public Schools District.

Martin also has pledged $300,000 to upgrade the area around the Civic Center; $545,000 for the Sonesta Drive-Crandon Boulevard intersection; $1.5 million to reduce the Holiday Colony flooding (when his project is completed); and help upgrade the dog park, for starters. He’s also committed to shoreline protection with both the Rickenbacker and Seaquarium projects.

Other Key stories from 2025

Rickenbacker Causeway could be re-imagined

County Commissioner Raquel Regalado, with the aid of one of Martin’s associates, showed Key Biscayne residents what could be done with a fortified Rickenbacker Causeway that would offer a split-level design to allow traffic flow directly in and out of the Village, a design that also keeps the passive bicyclists, pedestrians and walkers safe.

“Think of it as the Underline with a beach,” said planner Juan Mullerat, whose vision with the split-level “viaduct” could not only bolster the economy with 150 feet of beach-friendly access, but also with a well-lit green space, safer streets (especially near the MAST Academy entrance) and a resilient coastline.

Regalado said those would all be factors toward helping obtain funding from different sources, “like the ingredients in a lasagna,” as she called it. She also convinced Key Biscayne’s Village Council (6-1 vote) to pony up about $950,000 (although she said at least two other current contributors would offset some of that cost) to study the feasibility of the project for environmental, funding and other factors before it could go to the County Commission for approval.

The idea for the concept was initially sparked by a casual conversation between local veteran attorney Gene Stearns (who has been pushing for a new, fortified Bear Cut Bridge) and Martin.

“This is not a roadway project; we’re re-imagining the roadway,” Regalado said.

Village stormwater project gets a second look

Is it a “runaway train” as former Village Council member Luis “Lucho” de la Cruz refers to it, or a “second look” as Village Manager Steve Williamson prefers to call it?

The Village’s Resilient Infrastructure Adaptation Plan, which first focuses on flooding woes around the K-8 school (a project now estimated at $89 million), also includes potential plans for all new sewer pipes throughout the island, possibly burying all utility lines, and fortifying the coastline with dunes from the Army Corps of Engineers at a cost first estimated to be over $300 million.

While the plans look great on paper, some concerned residents, like de la Cruz, have protested the exorbitant costs to the taxpayers, just in the planning and design stages, and have asked “Why can’t the current system just be constantly maintained, and repair just the portions that need revamping?”

That flushing, or jetting, is being done, however, according to Public Works Director Chris Miranda, whose staff oversees the 39 wells.

Now, with the assistance of a Mayor-appointed three-member Ad Hoc Committee (although there’s been plenty of lively banter between Council members Ed London and Fernando Vazquez, once a top official at AECOM), a study is currently in place by a second engineering firm, GIT Consulting LLC, to see if a less expensive alternative for Zone 1 than that of AECOM’s officials can be delivered with nearly the same long-term results.

London, speaking to the Rotary Club of Key Biscayne this year, said the Village has shelled out $6.3 million to AECOM for the design of just Zone 1 and another $2 million for a consultant, Black & Veatch, to follow along.

“This could be an $8.3 million mistake,” said London, who with former Vice Mayor Brett Moss had called the proposed 2-inch piping system “overkill” in the past. “I won’t say the system won’t work, but we could suck the rain out of the sky.”

Village officials have long maintained that studies from NOAA and other sources call for impending sea levels to rise and stronger storms in the future. Tackling the potential problems now would be an investment for future generations and continued insurance qualifications, for example.

According to de la Cruz, a vocal dissident over the past two years, he recently told the Council that “much worse would be to go forward with $100 million (nearly the cost for just the Zone 1 area) for something we don’t need.”

There were plenty of other news items in 2025 to round out the top 10:

County’s budget shortfall aims at Nature Center, Crandon Park tennis facility

With Miami-Dade County suddenly finding itself in about a $400 million budget shortfall,two iconic assets were in danger of closure or reduced hours.

The Marjory Stoneman Douglas Biscayne Nature Center, much to the chagrin of longtime supporters and director Theodora Long, faced a late November eviction. The letter sent to Long sparked significant backlash from the Island community and beyond, triggering commentaries, letters to the editor, and coverage in this newspaper and other media outlets, all carrying the same message: protect the Center and the Marjory Stoneman Douglas legacy. Shortly thereafter, local attorney Alan Fein, a partner at the law firm Stearns Weaver Miller, sent what amounted to a “hands off” letter to the County.

The County has now rescinded that November order to vacate, allowing the educational site to remain open on “a month-to-month basis,” as the parties work out a new deal.

Officials also reduced hours at the famed Crandon Park Tennis Center in an attempt to offset $1.2 million in losses, but just recently secured a one-year deal with USTA Florida, which will resume the regular court hours starting Jan. 16. In the meantime, the County will seek a third-party partner to improve facilities and, hopefully, squeeze out some profits in the long term.

E-bike ban continues after emergency vote to remove sunset provision

Key Biscayne Village Council members voted 5-1 to permanently forbid electric bikes, motorized scooters and similar micro-mobility devices within the city’s boundaries by hustling to delete the sunset (expiration) provision from its 2024 emergency ordinance. After a newly shaped Council takes shape following the November 2026 election, another vote could possibly take place, however.

The Village lost two icons, architect Wilfredo “Willy” Borroto and drugstore owner Dick Vernon

Willy Borroto, whose architectural footprint is stamped around Key Biscayne and well beyond, passed away at age 87 after battling Parkinson’s disease for more than a dozen years like a true champion. A month earlier, in September, Dick Vernon, 93, whose drugstore breakfast counter served the likes of President Nixon and Bebe Rebozo, also passed, leaving behind nearly 70 years of business and community memories, most of those from the legacy of Vernon’s Drug Store.

Former gymnastics coach sentenced in sexual abuse cases

Oscar Olea, who accepted a plea deal on behalf of four felony sexual crime counts (originally six charges) stemming from incidents with underage girls, was handed a sentence of 12 years in prison and 10 more of probation (amended to 19 years) in an emotional Miami courtroom, meaning he will not be allowed back into Key Biscayne in two decades.

Local high school student part of national-record swim relay

Key Biscayne’s Lucas Young, who began training for triathlons in the Community Center pool when he was younger, closed out his high school swim career at The Bolles School in Jacksonville by being part of the national-record 200-meter medley relay team.

Man with local connections completes journey to see all 193 countries

Nicolas Maza, 47, a distant relative to former Key Biscayne Vice Mayor Brett Moss, said he “just wanted to see the world,” and did just that, becoming one of 462 people who have officially visited all 193 recognized countries with some amazing stories to treasure.

Voters elect first woman to City of Miami mayoral post

Eileen Higgins, 61, an eight-year County Commission member, was sworn in as the first Democratic Miami mayor since 1997, when Xavier Suarez, father of the outgoing incumbent, Republican Francis Suarez, was elected. Meanwhile, Vicki Lopez relinquished her State Representative seat when she was appointed to take Higgins’ post on the Commission.

Agree? Disagree? Write us with to editor@islandernews.com your comments or news items we missed and Happy New Year.