Boatyard Brouhaha: Manatee Concerns Threaten Little River Marina Development

The Uplands, a proposed museum and retail complex on the site of a disused marina in Miami's Little River neighborhood, has drawn the ire of neighbors and other groups who cite the project's proximity to a protected manatee zone.

"They are going to bring in WaveRunners, and they will be flying through here at 30 knots racing each other," fumes Anthony Adams, a homeowner who has had the Little River and its frequent manatee visitors as his backyard since 1978. "This is a no-wake zone because manatees move slow, and many have propeller scars on their backs."

Just a few blocks northwest of Adams' house, the property at issue is located at 471 NE 79th St., on the east bank of the Little River as it bends to the north behind the Tropical Market grocery store. Miami-Dade property records show that the wedge-shaped parcel, which covers roughly two-thirds of an acre, was purchased for $3.5 million by Emancipator 471 LLC in 2021.

The company name is a nod to the fact that the parcel is the former site of the Emancipator Boatyard, once owned by S. Mortimer Auerbach, who, in the 1940s, designed a world-renowned wooden racing boat he dubbed the Emancipator.
"They were among the fastest in the world," Emancipator 471 principal Avra Jain tells New Times. "The building represents an important period in Miami's industrial and architectural history, showcasing the evolution of boat manufacturing and design. The Emancipator and other boats produced there contributed to Miami's reputation as a hub for innovative boat design and racing."
Jain and her wife, Dalia Lagoa, head up the Vagabond Group, a real estate development company that has revived historic and industrial properties in Miami's MiMo District, Little Haiti, and Little River. The duo also developed Factory Town, a late-night dance-music venue in a Hialeah warehouse district. (New Times honored the pair as "Best Power Couple" in the 2023 "Best of Miami" issue.)

In documents submitted to state environmental agencies, Emancipator 471 emphasized the history of the proposed Uplands site. The company said it would reduce the number of boat slips from 21 to eight and restore the boatyard and marina to convert it into "a dining, shopping, historic experience" and a "safe, secure, and environmentally responsible marina for boaters and visitors to Miami."

The new marina, the developers stated, would provide short-term docking services only during the non-manatee season (May 1 through November 14) "and an area to observe manatee congregation from the docks during the winter months when the manatee season is at its peak."
The rest of the year, the marina would be "closed to all vessels, paddle craft, and people." Moreover, its piers would be reserved for "temporary docking while people enjoy our facility. There will be no maintenance allowed, no liveaboards, no storage, no fueling allowed at this facility."

Says Jain: "I could have built a high-rise. Instead, I designated the site historic."

What About the Manatees?

According to the Little River Conservancy, a local nonprofit advocacy group, the waterway for which it is named is one of Miami's four original natural rivers that empty into Biscayne Bay.

Also known as "C-7," the Little River meanders some 12 miles eastward from Hialeah Gardens through Hialeah, unincorporated Miami-Dade, El Portal, and the Miami neighborhoods of Larchmont Gardens, Oakland Grove, the Upper East Side, Shorecrest, and Belle Meade before reaching the bay. It's also a major drainage conduit for Doral and points west, according to the conservancy's website.

The group works to improve the river's water quality, which it characterizes as "highly polluted by factors such as fertilizer runoff, industrial and construction waste, and leaking septic tanks."

That diagnosis is backed up by data that Florida International University (FIU) researchers collect from a monitoring buoy located near the mouth of Little River before it reaches Biscayne Bay, says Brad Schonhoff, director of FIU's CREST Center, a federally funded initiative to study aquatic systems along so-called urbanization gradients.

Schonhoff says the buoy "acts as an early indicator of issues, especially when it rains and pollutant levels increase and oxygen levels decrease."

Lack of oxygen — hypoxia, in science-speak — can cause dead zones for fish and plants. "However, wildlife and mammals can adapt because they can rise up," Schonhoff points out.

"From what I know, manatees use the Little River year-round for a freshwater source," Beth Brady, a staff member at the nonprofit Save the Manatee Club, tells New Times. "But they are more frequently observed during winter months. Manatees do not tolerate waters lower than 68 degrees, which can lead to cold stress (a similar concept as frostbite in humans). They use the Little River as a passive thermal basin, as these waters tend to stay slightly warmer than open bay waters."

As part of the permitting process, Emancipator 471 applied to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Internal Improvement Trust Fund (IITF), which manages lands previously owned by the canal authority.
At an August 27 meeting of the IITF, Brady was the only person who submitted written opposition to the project.

"The property lacks a current submerged lands lease, and the presence of an existing marina is unfounded," she wrote. "The proposed marina is located in a no-marina zone as per the [1995] Miami-Dade Manatee Protection Plan and manatees are frequently observed in the area, which is also a state-designated seasonal No Entry Zone. The project involves dredging, inconsistent with the Miami-Dade Manatee Protection Plan's requirements and raises concerns about manatee safety due to the risk of watercraft-related mortality."

A WhatsApp group called Little River Riparian Property Owners also opposes the plan. As this story was being prepared for publication, its two dozen members were gearing up to voice their dissent at a meeting of the Biscayne Bay Commission scheduled for 10 a.m. on September 3 at Cutler Bay Town Hall.

Green Infrastructure

Glen Larson is president of Dock and Marine Construction, a family business that has plied its trade from its headquarters on the Little River just east of Biscayne Boulevard for 65 years.

"He is our installer," Avra Jain says by way of introduction. "His dad did work on the Emancipator way back, and he has done a lot of work along the Little River. Like myself, he is a local that cares."

Indeed, Larson is familiar with the winding waterway and its itinerant sea cows.

"The proposed project is harmonious to the area and will provide access to the water for the general public, and educate on the history of Miami and Historic Lemon City. In addition, it will educate the public on manatee awareness, as this site is in an area of manatee congregation during certain times of the year," he wrote in a January 2023 letter of intent addressed to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

"Because the facility will be closed during the manatee season, the likeliness of any harm or interference with a manatee or its habits is unlikely," Larson elaborates to New Times. Uplands or no Uplands, he adds, "The manatees need to traverse past numerous marine facilities to get to this destination, and in the wintertime, this area is only a warm-water congregation area that has no food supply."

Part of the project also involves removing creosote timbers that have been leaching into the waterway. Jain says Emancipator 471 is investing in on-site water collection, a form of green infrastructure that will prevent rainwater or water used by the business from draining directly into the Little River.

"One of the biggest issues is cleaning the water," she says. "That is one of the most important things all properties along the waterfront can do for the manatees and the river ecosystem — to not allow contaminants to drain directly into the river. Most vintage properties along the river have no water collection infrastructure."
The MiMo developer says she doesn't understand the dissent that has come her way since she applied for the project. When pressed for specifics about her vision for the completed project, she demurs, mentioning art studios and car storage before pivoting to point out that dumping from industrial sites upstream continues to pollute the Little River, as does the fact that nearby municipalities El Portal and Miami Shores still aren't connected to Miami-Dade's sewer system.

"It has always been a marina," Jain says of the Emancipator site. "We designated it historic. It is going from 21 slips to eight and will have full-water collection, which is very expensive.

"People who know me know the kind of work I do," she insists. "I want to revive Little River's story."