Vita at Grove Isle

What was actually built at Vita at Grove Isle?

65 residences across three interconnected seven-storey buildings named Mare, Luce and Sole, on Grove Isle — a private twenty-acre island in Biscayne Bay reached from Coconut Grove by a private bridge (developer’s website, read 25 September 2026). The developer’s pages list 12 two-storey penthouses of 3,400 to 6,600 interior square feet on the sixth and seventh storeys, with rooftop pools. The county roll (checked 25 September 2026) lists 65 unit folios — 23 three-bedroom and 42 four-bedroom, from 2,279 to 6,558 square feet of heated area — and gives the year built as 2025.

The developer is CMC Group, Ugo Colombo’s firm. The Real Deal reported (26 October 2022; 4 January 2024) that CMC bought the entity that owns the land in 2022 from the previous developer, Grove Isle Associates LLLP, led by Eduardo Avila (The Real Deal, 6 April 2022). The developer’s team page names CallisonRTKL as architect and A++ for interior design, with S & E Architects; sales and marketing are by Cervera Real Estate and CMC Real Estate (The Real Deal, 18 December 2025). The building stands at the island’s northern end beside three original 18-storey condominium towers completed between 1979 and 1981 (Coconut Grove Spotlight, 17 February 2025; The Real Deal, 4 January 2024). The firm’s next project is Four Seasons Private Residences Coconut Grove, in partnership with Fort Partners (The Real Deal, 18 December 2025).

What the City of Miami’s permit record shows (queried 25 September 2026): the new-construction permit for the residential building at 5 Grove Isle Drive (BD18013439001B001, multi-family condominium) was issued on 24 February 2020, is marked Final with all inspections finalized, and carries a certificate of occupancy dated 6 August 2026. The permit enters 588,729 square feet and a cost of 96,701,169 dollars, and lists the Miami 21 zone as T5-R; I have not found what those figures measure. All 111 permits filed under that application are marked Final, the last of the sub-permits on 31 July 2026. Separate permits at 4 Grove Isle Drive show a parking structure with a certificate of occupancy dated 30 January 2026 and a recreational facility and restaurant building with a certificate of occupancy dated 11 September 2026. The dataset lists no temporary certificate for any of them.

The developer’s amenities page (read 25 September 2026) describes a clubhouse with a bayfront pool and poolside bar, a restaurant, a spa, gym and yoga studio, tennis, pickleball and padel courts, and a marina with boat slips. PROFILEmiami reported on 15 September 2026 that the restaurant, La Sponda by Gioia Hospitality Group, was set to open on 19 September 2026; I have not confirmed that it opened.

The Litigation History — Read This First

Opposition to this building ran for years before it was finished; The Real Deal (18 December 2025) called it a ten-year dispute that was still in court. What follows comes from press reports and one published court opinion, as reported allegations and dated events. I have not read the current court docket.

• 2020 to 2022 — a settlement between the Grove Isle Condominium Association and the developer entities, resolving the existing residents’ loss of the island’s club, hotel, spa and tennis courts, was approved by a Miami-Dade circuit judge in May 2020 and affirmed by Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal on 26 May 2021 (The Real Deal, 9 June 2021). On 19 January 2022 the same court affirmed the dismissal with prejudice of a separate 2019 suit by Save Grove Isle, LLC against the developer entity and the City of Miami (case 3D20-1548, published opinion).
• 6 April 2022 — the Tigertail Association and a group of residents sued the City of Miami in Miami-Dade Circuit Court, alleging that it illegally granted building permits before the site was platted; CMC Group and Ugo Colombo were not named defendants (The Real Deal, 6 April 2022). The plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed that complaint in October 2022, saying they intended to refile (The Real Deal, 26 October 2022).
• April 2024 — the Miami Herald reported that residents had sued the city over the permits and that the city was seeking dismissal, arguing that the 2020 settlement, upheld on appeal, should stand; it reported that the developers are not defendants and say they are abiding by the 2020 settlement (28 April 2024).
• 23 January 2025 — Protect Grove Isle, the Tigertail Association and the Coconut Grove Civic Association refiled, naming the City of Miami as the only defendant and asking for an injunction revoking the permits and approvals, on the argument that the permits were granted without required platting (Coconut Grove Spotlight, 17 February 2025). The suit also alleges that Vita takes the island’s total to 589 residential units against a 1977 covenant capping it at 575, and that existing owners were stripped of club access; the plaintiffs argue the building lacks the setbacks and other elements that platting would have brought. The Miami Herald reported in April 2024 that the 2020 settlement superseded the 1977 covenant but did not include the original 1977 signatories, and that the plaintiffs say Vita violates it.

The building was completed anyway. Unit sales have been recorded since 18 December 2025 (county roll, checked 25 September 2026) and the city’s certificate of occupancy is dated 6 August 2026. On 18 December 2025 The Real Deal reported that the January 2025 suit was still in court. I have not found a source dated after that which reports a ruling, dismissal or settlement, and I have not read the docket, so I cannot tell you the current status of the case or what it could change. I have not found a source that says how it bears on title to any unit.

Read the court docket for the current status, and confirm in the recorded declaration and the offering documents how they treat the 1977 covenant and the platting question.

The Timeline, Dated

• 9 June 2021 — The Real Deal reports the rebrand from The Markers Grove Isle to Vita, then described as multiple five-storey buildings of about 65 units, with construction expected to begin in early 2022.
• 2022 — CMC buys the entity that owns the land from the previous developer; presales launch in August 2022 (The Real Deal, 26 October 2022 and 4 January 2024).
• April 2023 — construction begins. Florida YIMBY (21 April 2023) reports an estimated 24 to 28 months, implying roughly April to August 2025, with more than 40% presold and prices from $5.5 million for residences and $12 million for penthouses.
• 4 January 2024 — The Real Deal reports the $239 million Bank OZK construction loan, more than 70% presold, completion expected late 2025, and remaining units asking from $5.7 million and penthouses from $19.5 million (the developer’s figures).
• 5 September 2024 — Florida YIMBY reports the building topped off, completion scheduled for late 2025, nearly 80% of units under contract, and prices from about $6 million and $19.5 million for penthouses.
• 17 to 18 December 2025 — the developer announces a temporary certificate of occupancy and that closings have commenced; 85% presold, ten homes left asking $6.5 million to $22 million (PROFILEmiami, Florida YIMBY, The Real Deal). The county roll shows the first unit sale recorded on 18 December 2025.
• 30 January 2026 — certificate of occupancy dated for the parking structure at 4 Grove Isle Drive (City of Miami permit record).
• 6 August 2026 — certificate of occupancy dated for the residential building (City of Miami permit record).
• 11 September 2026 — certificate of occupancy dated for the recreational facility and restaurant building at 4 Grove Isle Drive (City of Miami permit record).
• 19 September 2026 — La Sponda, the restaurant at Vita, set to open (PROFILEmiami, 15 September 2026).

Stated targets and dates, side by side: construction expected to begin in early 2022 (2021 report) and reported begun in April 2023; completion 24 to 28 months from April 2023 (April 2023 report); late 2025 (January and September 2024 reports); temporary certificate announced December 2025; certificate of occupancy dated 6 August 2026. I have not found a source that says why any of these dates moved.

Buying Here Now

Because the building is delivered, the transaction is a resale or a remaining-inventory purchase, not a deposit against a rendering, and the diligence changes accordingly.

What the record shows (county roll, checked 25 September 2026): 52 of the 65 unit folios show a recorded qualified sale, the first on 18 December 2025 and the most recent on 23 April 2026; 13 show none. Recorded qualified sale prices run from about 2.6 million to 21.5 million dollars. Two folios show a second qualified sale within about two months of the first. The roll does not say whether a sale was from the developer or a resale; I have not found a source that separates the two, or that gives the number of homes unsold today.

What to ask for, in order:

• The current court docket on the January 2025 action and any successor filings — from the court record, not through the sales office.
• The recorded declaration and the offering documents, including the association budget and reserve schedule. The roll cites the condominium at Official Records book 35072, page 4361; I have not read that document.
• The insurance placement and any assessment history.
• The closing history — what has recorded since 18 December 2025, and at what prices — and what is actually available now. The developer’s website (read 25 September 2026) says “Residences from $8.5 Million”, and The Real Deal reported ten homes left on 18 December 2025.
• The 1977 covenant capping Grove Isle at 575 units, and how the recorded documents treat it. The January 2025 suit alleges Vita takes the island to 589; the Miami Herald (28 April 2024) reported that the 2020 settlement superseded the covenant but did not include the original 1977 signatories, and that the plaintiffs say Vita violates it.

Grove Isle and Coconut Grove Around It

Grove Isle is a private island of 20 acres in Biscayne Bay, reached from Coconut Grove by a private bridge; the developer says it has 24-hour security and a boardwalk around the island’s edge (developer’s location page, read 25 September 2026). Vita occupies the northern end beside three original 18-storey condominium towers completed between 1979 and 1981 (Coconut Grove Spotlight, 17 February 2025; The Real Deal, 4 January 2024). The City of Miami’s permit record lists the Miami 21 zone for the site as T5-R.

The developer’s location page lists, as nearby: CocoWalk, Fresh Market and Merrick Park for shopping; Dinner Key Marina and Grove Harbour Marina; Vizcaya Museum and Gardens; and schools including Ransom Everglades School and Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart. It gives drive times of 15 minutes to Brickell City Center and 19 minutes to Miami International Airport. Those are the developer’s list and figures; I have not checked them.