Architect chosen for convention center renovation

Miami Beach commissioners awarded a contract to design the $500 million renovation of the city’s convention center to Denver-based Fentress Architects.

Commissioners selected Fentress from a field of eight firms bidding for the $11 million contract on Wednesday, the Miami Herald reported. A selection committee previously ranked Fentress first out of the eight proposals, and City Manager Jimmy Morales suggested last week that commissioners should stick with the committee’s rankings.

Fentress is now tasked with designing partial plans for the project before bidding for a design-build firm begins. The design-build firm would finish the plans and handle construction. [Miami Herald] — Eric Kalis