Wasted Space

Litigation, though, is a bleak scenario. Not only would it further delay a sale, it would bring the property to the brink of a land use that -- right now, at least -- everyone wants to avoid. "The default scenario here is development," Goldstein warns. "Ultimately, eventually, [the owners] are not going to be able to [afford to pay the taxes] on the property any more. They can develop it themselves or they will sell it to someone else who is willing to deal with the zoning problems and with the Coconut Grove zoning activists.