Coconut Grove Takes the Spotlight Along Biscayne Bay This November

November arrives on Biscayne Bay the way a perfect Miami evening does: warm, unhurried and full of plans. This month the spotlight falls on Coconut Grove, where a beloved park is getting its long-awaited refresh and a storied hotel name is setting down roots on South Bayshore Drive. Farther north, an 8.5 million-square-foot plan in Little Haiti takes a step forward, a Venezuelan rotisserie is coming to Biscayne Boulevard, and the bay itself hosts racing boats and, downtown, a city's worth of books.

A $5 Million Refresh for Kirk Munroe Park

The City of Miami has approved final design plans for a $5 million improvement project at Kirk Munroe Park and Fuller Street in Coconut Grove. It is a public-private partnership: the city has committed $3 million through its Capital Improvements Plan, and Allen Morris Co. will contribute $2 million through public benefit contributions.

The plans read like a love letter to the Grove's shade and its sport. More than 100 new native trees are planned, alongside refurbished tennis courts, two new tennis shelters, a hitting wall and a playground. Fuller Street becomes what the plans call a "permanent curbless, pedestrian-oriented shared street." Portuondo Perotti Architects leads the architecture and Naturalficial the landscape. Construction is scheduled to begin in January 2027, with completion expected in the first quarter of 2028. A fitting tribute: Kirk Munroe built the first tennis court in Miami-Dade County.

Raffles Comes Home to South Bayshore Drive

Raffles is planning a 35-unit waterfront condominium at 2545 South Bayshore Drive, developed by Mast Capital and BH Group. It will mark the hospitality brand's first standalone residential property. Expect two- to four-and-a-half-bedroom residences and a selection of penthouses, designed by Brandon Haw Architecture, with prices starting at $4.5 million. Sales are expected to begin before the end of 2026; a construction start date has not been disclosed.

Little Haiti's Mega Project Moves Forward

Years after winning city approval, a proposed 8.5 million-square-foot project in the heart of Little Haiti is moving forward. The first portion of the development is expected to break ground in 2027.

A Venezuelan Rotisserie for the MiMo District

The team behind Caracas Bakery is opening Teo Teo, a Venezuelan rotisserie right next door on Biscayne Boulevard in the MiMo District. Its window promises a "neighborhood rotisserie" for fall 2026: comfort food with a Caracas accent, steps from the boulevard's mid-century motels.

Clear Water at Crandon Park

Good news for beachgoers: the Florida Department of Health in Miami-Dade lifted its water quality advisory for Crandon Park South on Key Biscayne on November 4, after tests completed on November 3 showed an acceptable level of Enterococcus bacteria under state guidelines.

The bigger picture still calls for care. Miami-Dade's 2026 Biscayne Bay Report Card, released in May, rated every region of the bay poor or fair overall, while noting encouraging signs of recovery in northern Biscayne Bay, an area previously hit by significant seagrass loss.

Racing Boats and a Week of Books

The bay turns into a racetrack when the E1 Miami GP returns for its season finale on November 13 and 14, off Virginia Key. Two days later, Miami Book Fair opens at Miami Dade College's Wolfson Campus downtown for a run from November 15 through 22, with its street fair from November 20 to 22. Electric boats on the water, authors on the boulevard: November in Miami, at its most Miami.

Photos: Miami Biscayne (lead and dusk skyline) and, via Wikimedia Commons, Averette (CC BY 3.0), Carol M. Highsmith (Public domain), Phillip Pessar (CC BY 2.0), Mathieu Plourde (CC BY 2.0), Gary Miotla (CC BY 3.0).

Quick answers

What did Miami approve for Kirk Munroe Park in Coconut Grove?

Final design plans for a $5 million improvement project at Kirk Munroe Park and Fuller Street, with more than 100 native trees, refurbished tennis courts and a shared street; construction is scheduled to start in January 2027.

Where is Raffles building residences in Miami?

At 2545 South Bayshore Drive in Coconut Grove: a 35-unit waterfront condominium with prices starting at $4.5 million.

When are E1 Miami GP and Miami Book Fair in 2026?

The E1 Miami GP season finale is November 13 and 14 off Virginia Key, and Miami Book Fair runs November 15 to 22 at Miami Dade College's Wolfson Campus.