The proposed 300 Grove Bay Residences would abut the Vizcaya Museum & Gardens in Coconut Grove. [Photo: Jeffrey Camp]

A battle over a luxury condominium development in Coconut Grove has caught the attention of developers, philanthropic activists, public officials and even hospital executives. With big money on all sides, the proposed development — 300 Grove Bay Residences — has generated controversy, court motions and neighborhood complaints because it will sit almost in the back yard of the Vizcaya Museum & Gardens, a national historic landmark just miles south of downtown Miami that’s the darling of local historians, society players and tourists.

The project involves three proposed high-rise buildings on waterfront property owned by Mercy Hospital near Vizcaya. The development team includes Related Group and Ocean Land Investments.

“From a legal standpoint, you have plenty of fire power,” says James Murley, director of the Joint Center for Environmental and Urban Problems at Florida Atlantic University/Florida International University. “These parties seemed locked in one classic legal battle.”

Those against the development have challenged Miami’s previous decision to rezone the property from “government institutional” to “multifamily high density.” They argue that the project opens the door to future encroachment on national landmarks.

Backers of the project argue that the development team has scaled back the buildings and agreed to make concessions. What’s more, they argue, Mercy Hospital will use its share of the proceeds to improve the quality of medical treatment.

Mercy CEO John Matuska says, “The project that was developed was the least intrusive on the community in terms of density and impact,” adding that the hospital could have used the land to build a medical office building, an assisted living facility or other healthcare offices that would have generated four to five times the traffic of the proposed project.

Ironically, the battle is being played out as the condo market has stalled, a fact not lost on opponents of the deal.

“We kept saying slow down,” says Becky Maltov of the Dade Heritage Trust, one of the leading preservationist organizations for historical landmarks in Miami. “We’re going to be stuck with all of those condo projects that people can’t sell or live in.”