MIAMI — A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge in Delaware approved the assumption and assignment of the lease to the now-closed Miami Seaquarium to a Coconut Grove developer on Friday.
Judge Laurie Selber Silverstein approved the transfer of the Seaquarium lease from the Dolphin Company to Terra. Its CEO, David Martin, was present in court.
Terra, which is buying the lease for nearly $23 million, plans to redevelop the Virginia Key site into a new aquarium ― sans marine mammals ― along with a marina, research center, shops, restaurants and a public baywalk.
It will now enter into negotiations with Miami-Dade County, the landowner. Commissioner Raquel Regalado will create an agenda item for the full county commission to consider.
“This ruling affirms that our team’s vision, track record, and ability to execute is the right path forward for the Seaquarium,” Martin said in part in a statement on Friday. “We would be honored to assume this lease and bring forward a new, modernized Seaquarium that opens the bayfront to the public, while respecting the history of the site and emphasizing its location on Biscayne Bay.
“We look forward to working with Miami-Dade County and the broader community as our plans come into focus.”
Drew Dawson, a bankruptcy law professor at the University of Miami’s law school, told Local 10 News that he thinks the interplay between the Delaware federal proceedings and Miami-Dade court and political proceedings will be “really interesting to watch.”
“Obviously, the county has got a very big stake in this. The stake is not just a financial stake. It’s actually the restrictions of the lease,” Dawson said. “So how do we do this in a way that you know the land has a public purpose? So how do you come up with a plan?”
The legal team representing the debtors said they have commitments from several “responsible, accredited and regulated” facilities in the United States for the adoption and relocation of all animals ― primarily marine mammals ― that need to be transferred.
The team told the judge that the transfer is still on track for the end of the year, pending approval with federal regulators.
“The court very much wants to see this come to a consensual solution because the alternative to a consensual solution is to shift it over to a straight liquidation,” Dawson said.
No animals would be relocated to other Dolphin Company parks, the debtors’ representative said.
The Seaquarium, which opened in 1955, shut down to the public on Sunday to the delight of animal rights activists, who long protested conditions at the park.
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