A May 28 meeting of the Monroe County Planning Commission essentially concluded a three-year process for developers to secure several key approvals needed to bring a Publix supermarket and more than 80 units of workforce housing to Tavernier.
Some planning commissioners initially froze when it came time to make a motion on a major conditional use permit for the project by Blackstone Group Tavernier 925 LLC and VC Tavernier LLC. Commissioner George Neugent initially moved to approve the request, but a second wasn’t heard from any of his colleagues. A motion to reconsider the request was approved; it was followed with a second by commissioner Ron Demes on Neugent’s motion. A 4-1 vote followed to approve the major conditional use permit.
Commissioner Eric Anderson, who represents the Upper Keys, was the lone “no” vote.
A major conditional use permit was requested by the developers to construct a 49,340-square-foot supermarket and liquor store, 86 units of workforce housing and 350 square feet of office space for AH Monroe on property located at MM 92.5, oceanside, in Tavernier. The matter was originally scheduled for a special April 14 meeting in Key Largo, but commissioners decided to continue it to the May 28 meeting in Marathon.
With the continuance came requests by the planning commission for a better buffer between the back of the grocery store and a nearby apartment, identified as dwelling unit E. Bart Smith, lawyer for the developers, said they’re planning a 12-foot hedge between the structures.
Commissioners also sought more green space and playground equipment for families and individuals expected to be occupying the units, which range from three-bedroom/two-bathroom to one-bedroom/one-bathroom. There were also architectural changes to apartments A1 and A2 and improved pedestrian sidewalks, as requested by the planning commission.
Devin Tolpin, the county’s senior director of planning and environmental resources, told planning commissioners the developer’s application for the major conditional use permit was “consistent and compliant with the applicable standards.” She said her staff recommended adding bike racks in front of the residential structures; it was included in a list of more than 20 conditions as part of the major conditional use approval.
Another condition outlines income categories for the 86 workforce housing units for occupants who derive 70% of their income from employment in Monroe County. Forty-nine units are deemed moderate income, while 37 are classified low income.
Developers will need to prioritize the workforce apartments ahead of the Publix supermarket. At least 43 of the 86 housing units must receive a temporary certificate of occupancy — giving residents the ability to move in — before receiving a certificate of occupancy for the supermarket and liquor store.
In order to obtain a certificate of occupancy for the proposed project, developers must also coordinate with and get approval from the Florida Department of Transportation regarding the driveway location and alignments, as well as turning radius for trucks and potential affects to the FDOT right-of-way.

Traffic, quality of living highlighted
During last month’s meeting, residents expressed concerns over traffic in the area and fears of more accidents near the development. Miles Moss, a traffic and safety engineer out of Miami, told planning commissioners about potential traffic safety issues at the site. He was brought in by the Tavernier Community Association, which from the beginning has stated its opposition to the project’s commercial aspect, the Publix and liquor store.
Overall, the location has serious traffic safety issues that other supermarkets in the Keys don’t have, Miles said.
“It will create hazardous conditions resulting in traffic accidents occurring unless a traffic signal light is installed at the site,” he said.
Issues were also raised as to how trucks traveling south on U.S. 1 would reach the entryway, located on the northbound side of the highway. There are also issues over pedestrian and bicyclist safety near the only entrance and exit into the grocery store and apartment complex.
Since the project’s inception, attorney Andy Tobin has taken to the podium during many meetings to address a variety of issues, on behalf of the Tavernier Community Association.
Speaking to planning commissioners on May 28, Tobin again urged them to reduce the grocery store size from 49,000 to 32,000 square feet. By reducing the size, Tobin acknowledged, there’d be a size reduction in the store’s parking lot and more space for residents to live decently in the apartments. Tobin noted that the Publix in Islamorada went from 50,000 to 32,000 square feet.
“If you get Publix to come here and say why can’t you do business … this is the most successful corporation in the state of Florida,” Tobin said. “They make millions and millions of dollars every day. Why can’t they have a 32,000-square-foot building?
“This project is going through. We all know that,” he continued. “We spent over two years going through the process. At the end of the day, what are we left with? We’re left with a horrible place to live. I thought about getting a psychologist to come here and give their expert opinion on how horrible it will be to live there. And I don’t think that’s the legacy you (planning commissioners) want.”
Smith, the developer’s attorney, disagreed with the statements.
“I’ve worked with Vestcor on every development they’ve done in the Keys. The idea that a newly-constructed apartment that has decent size and decent living conditions is not a good place is patently wrong,” Smith said.
“The fact of the matter is there is a ton of green space. You have access to a grocery store right next door,” Smith continued. “You have sound-proof windows, sound-proof buildings, new construction standards above base flood. This is what everyone’s hoping for so they don’t have to commute from Miami to the Keys.”
Commissioners’ viewpoints vary
Commissioner Rosemary Thomas said she lives around the corner from the Publix in Marathon and hears the trucks beeping at 5 o’clock in the morning. Despite not being “a fan” of the project, Thomas acknowledged the planning commissioner must “go with the law as it exists.”
“And all issues have been met,” she said. “We are in a very difficult position at this time … kind of the doors have been opened and I’m not so sure we can go back.”
Neugent spoke highly of Publix’s work following a hurricane to get back online and stock the shelves for those coming back from an evacuation. He also blamed Tallahassee’s preemption on vacation rentals for factoring into the Florida Keys workforce housing issue.
“If you want to point a finger at some of the things that are going on over the last five, six, seven, 10 years, for me, it’s been the preemption of management from county and municipalities to control vacation rentals,” he said. “A lot of housing that was residential either got sold or turned into a vacation rental or a second home.”
Anderson, the lone dissenter, noted that nonresidential structures in Tavernier and larger than 10,000 square feet aren’t surrounded by residential neighborhoods.
“Putting this in a neighborhood with that size of a Publix, I can’t see doing that to the neighborhood. That’s a first as far as I can tell,” Anderson said.
While Demes appreciated the quality of housing being built, he still had concerns with traffic.
Approval marks end to yearslong process
The planning commission’s approval on May 28 was one of the last in a list of items the developers needed to turn a defunct concrete production plant formerly owned by CEMEX into a grocery store, liquor store and workforce housing units. What started in 2022 as a proposed 64,000-square-foot Publix eventually became something smaller at the request of county commissioners, who heard from many residents who believed the size was way too large for the quiet and quaint Tavernier community.
There were also issues among residents and county staff members whether the project was in conflict with the Tavernier Liveable CommuniKeys Master plan, which guides development in a manner that’s consistent with community goals. Under the plan’s community character element, goal three outlines a prohibition on designating new commercial land use districts in order to protect the viability of the U.S. 1 corridor area. It’s something Richard Barreto, current president of the Tavernier Community Association, highlighted during an Aug. 23, 2022 community meeting.
By Feb. 15, 2024, county commissioners voted 4-1 to approve a Tavernier Key Commercial Overlay District, which would allow the developer to build a nonresidential structure beyond the 10,000-square-foot limit. The commission’s approval came despite county staff recommending denial of the overlay due to its inconsistency with Tavernier’s guide for development, the Liveable CommuniKeys Plan. The county’s planning commission voted 3-2 recommending county commissioners deny the request.
By September 2024, developers received approval to reserve 86 of the available 300 units of early evacuation workforce housing units without having to give an equal number of affordable housing units allocations to the county’s administrative relief pool.
Last month, the county commission approved a development agreement for the project, while the planning commission said “yes” to a variance relaxing a county regulation of 400 feet in separation between curb cuts on U.S. 1.
Some controversy ensued
A county-approved Tavernier Key Commercial Overlay District was transmitted to FloridaCommerce for review and final determination. After initially denying the ordinance in a May 16, 2024 final order, FloridaCommerce reversed course on June 26, 2024 by giving its approval.
There was also the reported clearing of mangroves last January after neighbors at MM 92.5 heard sounds of chainsaws and heavy machinery operating on the property. Smith told Keys Weekly by email on Jan. 24 that the property owners leased the front portion of the property to the contractor Michels Pipeline, which is installing new transmission main for the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority. Having successfully installed new lines on Upper Matecumbe and Windley Keys, the contractors are preparing to replace several miles of aged line on Plantation Key as soon as next month.
The contractors entered the site and removed invasive exotics as part of clearing the area to be utilized. Inadvertently, a small portion of disturbed wetlands adjacent to the invasive exotics were affected. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection was contacted regarding the incident.
Since the incident, Keys Weekly asked DEP several times what the agency was doing to address the issue. No response was received from DEP. Smith told Keys Weekly shortly after the incident that “we will make this right as we have been upfront about maintaining the wetlands from the beginning of this project. This was an error and while it was not caused by the property owners it will be corrected.”