BREAKING: Leaked Memo Shows Bight Staff Picks Bernsen–Spottswood Proposal for Former Buffett Studio

Internal City Hall documents recommend negotiations for Shrimp Boat Sound site.

Internal City Hall documents leaked to and reviewed by Above the Fold indicate staff for the Historic Key West Bight Management District and City of Key West concluded that a proposal from developer David Bernsen and the Spottswood family is the strongest of several submissions to lease the vacant Lazy Way recording studio long associated with Jimmy Buffett.

The memorandum, authored by Senior Property Manager Gary Moreira, was created and uploaded internally on Feb. 5 but is post-dated Feb. 18. The agenda for the board’s Feb. 18 meeting had not yet been released publicly.

Leaked internal documents from the City of Key West only reference three proposals for the now-defunct studio. / CONTRIBUTED

The memo recommends the Historic Key West Bight Management Board authorize lease negotiations with the Bernsen–Spottswood proposal, which calls for restoring the space as a working recording studio alongside tours, retail (likely including margaritas,) live broadcasts and event programming tied to Key West’s music history.

The building has a layered history on the waterfront.

It first served as an office for Singleton’s Fisheries, later became an ice house and was eventually leased by Buffett, who transformed it into Shrimp Boat Sound. Buffett recorded several later albums there, and artists including Kenny Chesney, Zac Brown Band, Alan Jackson, George Strait, Mac McAnally, Brian Wilson, Toby Keith, Old Dominion and Little Feat have also recorded in the space.

Following Buffett’s death in 2023, the estate disassembled the studio and relinquished the lease, leaving the city-owned structure vacant. Since then, the building has fallen into disrepair and sat largely unmaintained along the Historic Bight boardwalk — one of the highest-volume tourist corridors in Key West, second only to the Southernmost Point. In the interim, the site has become an informal shrine for fans, with Parrothead visitors leaving tributes, memorabilia and stickers on the exterior.

Originally, Bernsen and members of the Spottswood family submitted competing concepts for the property. Early versions of the Spottswood proposal drew criticism from some in the Parrothead community, who expressed concern the site could become primarily a margarita bar trading on Buffett nostalgia without preserving its musical function. A unified proposal from Bernsen and the Spottswood family is now before the Bight Board for consideration and is the plan staff recommended advancing.

The memo outlines three proposals received after public notice was published in December seeking letters of interest for the space. In addition to the Bernsen–Spottswood plan, submissions included a proposal to preserve the space as a creative studio without defined lease terms and another proposing an express wedding chapel concept with reduced rent in early years.

The memo estimates the roughly 1,447-square-foot building could generate about $96,000 annually in base rent under a triple-net lease, plus a percentage of sales, and notes approximately $300,000 in repairs may be required regardless of tenant. Spottswood Companies operates its own construction arm, KeyStar, which would likely be tapped for repair or build-out work if a lease is finalized, though no such arrangement has been publicly approved.

The cover memo does not reference a fourth proposal submitted by the Key West Musicians’ Collective, which sought to rebuild the site as a nonprofit working studio for local musicians and visiting recording artists.

The Historic Key West Bight Management Board is scheduled to consider the issue Wednesday, Feb. 18, at Key West City Hall, 1300 White St., beginning at 4 p.m. The meeting is open to the public and will be live streamed on the city’s website.

If negotiations are authorized, staff would return to the board and the Community Redevelopment Agency with a draft lease for approval.