Port Bougainville

History of Port Bougainville

Environmental Destruction in North Key Largo

By the early 1970s, unregulated dredging and filling threatened to transform the Florida Keys into a “concrete jungle.” To address this lack of local control, the state stepped in on April 15, 1975, naming the archipelago an Area of Critical State Concern to strictly manage future growth.

The Department of Community Affairs (DCA) released a massive 300-page consultant report in 1982, titled the “Impact Analysis of Florida Keys Critical Area Designation.” However, the document offered little new insight, and in a repeat of the region’s historical disregard for federal rules during the 1930s, the Keys chose to ignore it.

By 1983, the DCA threatened a state takeover of all new development and began drafting a management plan. Monroe County countered, arguing that the state had failed to provide the funding required to develop an accurate land-use map. While the two sides eventually moved toward a compromise, their efforts lagged behind reality; by 1984, at least 51 new developments were already underway without formal approval. During this time, the Miami Herald published a series of exposés on the region’s explosive growth, estimating that North Key Largo alone was on track to house between 25,000 and 45,000 residents.

Port Bougainville Development

While many of these ventures have faded into obscurity, the most prominent among them was the North Key Largo Yacht Club, later known as Solarelle. Because it was approved in 1974, prior to the Florida Keys being designated an Area of Critical State Concern, the development held significant vested rights.

In 1980, the property was acquired by Miami real estate developer Fritz E. Scharenberg, who reimagined it as the massive Port Bougainville development. Scharenburg was responsible for several projects on Key Biscayne, including the development of the Key Colony condominium development. Port Bougainville was slated to include approximately 2,800 Mediterranean-style condominiums and townhouses, as well as hotels, cafes, shops, a marina, and a “medieval town hall” and chapel.

To finance the project, approximately 150 units were presold to private investors, and a $40.5 million loan was obtained from the Continental Illinois Bank in Chicago. Starting in December 1982, Scharenberg secured seven extensions on the development loan. Although no payments were ever made, the bank remarkably issued an additional $13.5 million, increasing its total to $54 million.

The Project’s Downfall

Since its inception, Port Bougainville has been mired in controversy, primarily among environmentalists who feared the immense damage the development would cause to an already fragile ecosystem. Unlike Key Colony, though, the Port Bougainville development floundered in 1984 when Continental Illinois was in such financial trouble that it required a multi-billion-dollar loan from the federal government. This loan was approved because regulators were not willing to let it fail due to the bank’s size. This is when the term “too big to fail” became popularized.

In paying off the debt, Continental Illinois turned over control of certain loans to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). The FDIC ordered the foreclosure of those loans, including those given to Scharenburg. Although Scharenburg later won a lawsuit against the bank, Port Bougainville was abandoned, leaving behind an empty marina and some unfinished buildings. The government took this opportunity and purchased the land, which eventually became known as the Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Botanical State Park.

Today, most of the manmade lagoons have been filled in and the buildings demolished, except for the main entrance of the former development. The park serves as a vital sanctuary for the threatened Key Largo Woodrat and Key Largo Cotton Mouse. These species are exclusive to this region, with 90% of their remaining habitat contained within Dagny Johnson Park and the neighboring Crocodile Lake National Wildlife Refuge. The park is open year-round to the public and offers walking tours of what would have been Port Bougainville.