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The city owns the land and parking garage at 1691 Michigan Avenue, near Lincoln Road. The current tenant, a private developer called RK Rivani LLC, is looking to extend the ground lease and start new construction on top of the garage.<\/p>\n
Carl Juste<\/p>\n
cjuste@miamiherald.com<\/p>\n
An ultra-luxury South Beach office building where Playboy has its headquarters is seeking approval for $50 million worth of upgrades and an extension of its lease with the city that would run into the next century.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
If approved, the proposal is expected to generate around $432 million for the city, according to the referendum<\/a>.<\/p>\n Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner and five of the city\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n 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<\/a> after Rivani\u2019s firm bought it for $62.5 million in 2024. It reopened last month.<\/p>\n Rivani declined to comment on the referendum.<\/p>\n Last year, Playboy Enterprises signed a lease<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n During a July meeting, Miami Beach Commissioner Joe Magazine called the deal a \u201ctremendous opportunity\u201d for the city.<\/p>\n 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 \u201cbig benefits for residents, without big development.\u201d<\/p>\n But not everyone is convinced. Commissioner David Suarez, who was the sole dissenting vote, raised concerns that the $1.5 million package wouldn\u2019t pay for the infrastructure impacted by the development, like sewage systems. Suarez said it\u2019s \u201creally offensive to the voters\u201d when the city faces roughly $1 billion in unfunded infrastructure needs.<\/p>\n The plans, such as the human-trafficking reporting reward fund, may be worthwhile, Suarez said in a statement, but \u201cwith enormous needs involving flooding, roads, water, sewer and stormwater, infrastructure should come first, not individual Commissioners\u2019 pet projects.\u201d<\/p>\n 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone who votes on this referendum now will not be around to see what happens in 2132,\u201d Knapp said. \u201cWith inflation, interest rates \u2014 hello, flooding. \u2026 Will there be a Miami Beach in 2132?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Jessica Pita, 46, a South Beach resident and preservationist, called the deal \u201cjust another sneaky proposal to add density and vertical intensity to our beloved Art Deco historic district.\u201d The proposed addition to Rivani threatens what makes South Beach so recognizable and special, she said.<\/p>\n In a statement, the Miami Beach Republican Club said it also opposes the \u201cextraordinary commitment\u201d of handing a private developer the option to control valuable taxpayer-owned property for an additional 40 years.<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe the proposed public benefits are largely political pet projects, not meaningful long-term investments for our residents,\u201d the Miami Beach Republican Club said. \u201cNo 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.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Miami](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/MIA_01MBREFERENDUM.JPG\" "\\"MIA_01MBREFERENDUM.JPG\\"")
Miami Beach\u2019s sole referendum on the Nov. 3 ballot involves a lease deal with a private developer for the site at 1691 Michigan Ave. Carl Juste cjuste@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n