Miami Votes 4-1 to Keep City Hall at Dinner Key

Miami's historic City Hall at Dinner Key is staying City Hall. On September 10, 2026, the City Commission voted 4-1 for a resolution by Commissioner Damian Pardo that keeps regular commission meetings at 3500 Pan American Drive, even as most city staff prepare to move to a new administration building at Miami Freedom Park, Miami Today and Political Cortadito reported. Commissioner Miguel Gabela cast the only no vote.

The building and what it costs to keep

The Art Deco building opened in 1934 as Pan American Airways' seaplane terminal. The city bought the property in 1946 and moved its government there in 1954, and the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. Pardo put the cost of keeping it at about $290,000 a year, according to both outlets.

The resolution does not set an end date. The Museum of Miami has pitched restoring the terminal, The Real Deal reported. Local 10 reported that the city is not entertaining proposals to change the building's use for now.

Where the staff are going

Administrative offices are still leaving the aging Miami Riverside Center. The city is building an eight-story administration building designed by Arquitectonica at 1822 NW 37th Ave., on the Miami Freedom Park site near Miami International Airport, Miami Today and Hoodline reported. WSVN reported completion near the end of 2027, running into early 2028, and Political Cortadito reported a 2028 opening.

Why it matters for Coconut Grove condo owners

The vote keeps a public, low-rise civic use on one of the most visible pieces of the Coconut Grove bayfront for the foreseeable future. For owners in the towers along South Bayshore Drive, that means no near-term redevelopment of the City Hall site and commission meetings that continue to bring traffic on meeting days.

The closest condo buildings, with Own.Miami data as of October 13, 2026:

• Mr. C (2024, 22 floors): 28 sales in the last 12 months at a median $1,611 per square foot, the most of any building in Coconut Grove. Regulated lenders financed 20% of its recorded sales.
• The twin 2016 towers, Grove at Grand Bay North and Grove at Grand Bay South, recorded six sales between them in the last 12 months and one bank loan, so they trade largely in cash.
• Park Grove's towers, including One Park Grove and Two Park Grove, sit about a quarter mile away.

Across Coconut Grove, 176 condos are for sale, about 9.6 months of supply, and the median closing price per square foot over the last 12 months was $868, up 11.6% from the year before.