Miami Beach voters turned down the lease extension for The Lincoln at 1691 Michigan Ave., 15,406 to 9,203. The results are unofficial until certified Nov. 13.
Miami Beach voters rejected a plan to extend the city’s ground lease at 1691 Michigan Ave. by 40 years. The No side won 62.6% of the vote Tuesday.
The count was 15,406 votes against and 9,203 in favor, out of 24,609 cast on the question, with all 21 precincts reporting. Those are the Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections’ unofficial results as of 1:15 p.m. Wednesday. They include mail ballots received through Tuesday, early votes and Election Day votes.
The City Clerk’s letter to the commission (PDF) on Wednesday attached an earlier printout, with 15,405 No votes. The share is the same in both.
| Choice | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| No | 15,406 | 62.60% |
| Yes | 9,203 | 37.40% |
| Total | 24,609 |
What voters turned down
The city owns the land at 1691 Michigan Ave., on Michigan Avenue between Lincoln Lane and 17th Street. A private tenant owns the building on it, an office building with a parking garage and ground-floor stores known as The Lincoln. The tenant today is RK Rivani LLC, which the city approved as buyer of the leasehold in 2024 for $62.5 million.
The current lease dates from Sept. 1, 1999. Its first term runs to Sept. 30, 2052, with two automatic 20-year renewal options. When the lease ends, the building passes to the city at no cost. That is all set out in Resolution 2026-34388 (PDF), which the City Commission passed after a second-reading hearing July 22.
The amendment voters rejected would have:
- added two more 20-year options, for a total remaining term of 106 years
- let the tenant build about 47,000 square feet of offices above the garage, a project the city valued at about $50 million, up to 100 feet tall
- cut the garage’s required parking to 425 spaces
- guaranteed $247,733,206.12 in base rent over the 40 years of the new options
- raised the percentage rent from 2.5% to 3%
The tenant had also agreed to $1.5 million in public benefits. They included $600,000 for Lincoln Road improvements or art and $100,000 toward rewards for tips on human trafficking crimes. The commission had planned to put $500,000 a year of the new rent, for five years after the expansion was finished, toward flooding and resiliency projects.
The commission approved the amendment on the condition that a majority of city voters agreed. With the No vote, it does not take effect, and the 1999 lease stays as it is.
When the result is final
The City Clerk’s letter sets out the steps:
- Friday, Nov. 6: the Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections certifies the unofficial results, including mail and provisional ballots.
- Friday, Nov. 13: after overseas mail ballots are counted, the county sends the clerk the certified official results.
- Monday, Nov. 16, 9 a.m.: the City Commission considers accepting the official results at a special meeting.
Results remain unofficial until then. The No side leads by 6,203 votes.
What it means for you
- Nothing changes at The Lincoln. The building, the garage and the stores keep running under the existing lease.
- The office expansion above the garage will not go ahead under this deal. Any new proposal for the site would have to go back to the City Commission.
- The $1.5 million in public benefits tied to the deal will not be paid, since they depended on the amendment.
- Questions about the election go to the City Clerk’s office at 305-673-7411. The full question and the resolutions are on our voting page and the clerk’s special election page.
For the House, County Commission and state Senate races on the Miami Beach ballot, see our election results story. For how Miami-Dade voted before Election Day, see our turnout story.
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