A group of private donors has floated an $80 million plan to upgrade Key Biscayne’s Crandon Park, featuring a modernized racquet-sports center and a public golf course designed by the Jack Nicklaus company, according to the Miami Herald.
Organizers meet with officials to build support
The proposed overhaul remains in the planning stage as organizers meet privately with government officials to build support. Andres Gaviria, a Key Biscayne resident and avid golfer helping lead the effort, told the Miami Herald that the group wants to build a magnificent course for the public as a gift.
Mike Davey, a former Key Biscayne mayor who left office in 2022, stated that he met with Nicklaus about the proposal while serving as mayor. “I’m a supporter,” Davey said, according to the Miami Herald.
Multiple sources told the Miami Herald that the group has courted billionaire hedge-fund mogul Ken Griffin. However, Gaviria and prominent Key Biscayne attorney Eugene Stearns declined to reveal the specific donors backing the project.
Presentation outlines sweeping changes to waterfront park
The presentation obtained by the Miami Herald outlines sweeping changes to the waterfront park. The current golf course would be ripped up and rebuilt, elevating the playing area by several feet to protect against surge flooding and significantly reducing runoff into Biscayne Bay.
“People don’t realize that the course today is an environmental catastrophe,” Stearns said, according to the Miami Herald. “All of its ponds and lakes run into Biscayne Bay. The tide comes in and out, and with it, the chemicals and the fertilizers from the golf course.”
The proposal also replaces the existing 37 tennis courts—including the 14,000-seat stadium that previously hosted the Miami Open—with 27 new tennis courts, eight pickleball courts, and eight padel courts. Golfers and tennis players would share a new three-story clubhouse featuring an observation deck, bar, restaurant, locker rooms, and verandas.
While Miami-Dade County would continue managing the facilities, the donors would require a separate arrangement utilizing a private entity to provide grounds crews, funded through course revenue. “Part of the program will be providing employment to the County staff who have been frustrated with the absence of resources,” the presentation reads, as reported by the Miami Herald.
Proposal touches on sensitive political topics
Using private dollars to remake Crandon touches on sensitive political topics because the park is one of the few cash cows in the county parks system, generating surplus funds to support financially strapped parks. This generates extra scrutiny regarding long-term revenues and expenses.
This effort follows a previous $10 million upgrade offer in 2014 from Donald Trump, which Miami-Dade commissioners ultimately rejected before he entered the Republican presidential primary. Unlike that prior proposal involving Trump’s Doral golf resort controlling tee times, organizers insist no golf enterprise stands behind the current Crandon proposal.
To address concerns about exclusive access for wealthy backers, Gaviria and Stearns stated that donors would receive no advantages or access. County Commissioner Raquel Regalado, whose district includes Key Biscayne, said golf would remain easily available for everyday residents and visitors. “We’re not going to create any sort of benefit for the donors,” Regalado told the Miami Herald. “Anybody can play. We’re not going to raise the prices. But, obviously, there will be a lot more options.”
Frequently Asked Questions About the Crandon Park Proposal
How much is the proposed Crandon Park upgrade expected to cost?
The private donors have floated an $80 million plan to overhaul the golf course, add a new racquet-sports center, and construct a three-story clubhouse, according to the Miami Herald.
Who designed the proposed new golf course layout?
Golf legend Jack Nicklaus and his company have already provided a preliminary design for the proposed course layout, as reported by the Miami Herald.
What will happen to the former Miami Open tennis stadium?
The existing 37 tennis courts, which include the 14,000-seat stadium that hosted the Miami Open until 2019, would be ripped up to make way for 27 new tennis courts, eight pickleball courts, and eight padel courts.
Will the upgraded golf course remain open to the general public?
Yes, organizers and county officials emphasize that the facilities will remain open to the public, though the park would likely introduce a higher-priced patron card option for early tee-time reservations similar to existing county options.
Keep reading