Miami Is Finally Doing Something About Its Lack Of Mega-Yacht Parking Spots

Miami has sun, sand, and sex, but it lacks one critical feature of the modern luxury economy: a place for ultra-wealthy seafarers to dock their shimmering mega-yachts.

This is undoubtedly something that keeps the proud residents of South Florida awake at night - awake in the soft, humid night, after the final mojito has been downed and the last salsa danced in South Beach. So the city is doing something about it. The question is: Will the mega-yacht harbor be done in time for the 2015 Miami Yacht & Brokerage Show?

The show kicks off in mid-February, so the clock is ticking for the developer of the project, the Flagstone Property Group. But according to Miami Today, the firm has assured the City Commission that work has begun, the deadline will be met, and the mega-yachts with not be denied.

In fact, the Harbor at Island Gardens - the port is part of a planned $1 billion residential, dining, retail, and entertainment mecca - will address a global dearth of mega-yacht slips not just in Miami, but on the planet.

The current torrid rate of mega-yacht construction outstrips the supply of watery high-end parking spots. And while it's amusing to ply the waves, literally unmoored and addressless for weeks or months, there comes a time when you want to pull into port. Which will cost you. More than $4,000 a day.

As Charterworld reported back in February, the new marina will "accommodate 35 to 75 mega-yachts, superyachts and giga-yachts within a range of 80 to 480 feet." (If mega-yachts don't do it for you, giga-yachts the size of Navy frigates are where you turn). This is critical: when it comes to mega-yachts, you have to cater to the 300-foot-and-above-club.

We reached out to the Yacht & Brokerage Show organizers for a preview of mega-, super-, and giga-yachts to expect next year in Miami and will update when we know more.