In 2005, Hurricane Wilma destroyed a pair of dilapidated marinas in North Bay Village where Fane Lozman, a former Marine pilot and software developer, kept a two-story floating home. Kerri L. Barsh successfully represented Mr. Lozman in a landmark admiralty jurisdiction case before the U.S. Supreme Court. The Fane Lozman v. City of Riviera Beach, FL ruling had national implications for the growing number of floating homes, oil rigs, casinos, restaurants, and hotels, as well as state and local governments relative to their respective regulatory authority over floating structures. It also opened business opportunity for architect Koen Olthuis and hotel developer Paul van de Camp who founded Dutch Docklands, a global leader in floating infrastructure. Their expansion into the United States includes multi-million dollar floating homes in Miami that are responsive to rising sea levels and climate change.
Read more and see project renderings in the March 2015 Florida Trend article “Testing the Waters”.