Convention center developer committed despite setback

Miami Beach convention center rendering and Dan Tishman
Miami Beach convention center rendering and Dan Tishman

Two weeks after a state appeals court struck down a referendum required for the Miami Beach convention center project to proceed, the developer yesterday said it remains “strongly committed” to moving forward.

South Beach ACE, the developer-architect team led by Dan Tishman and Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, won the bid in July to redesign a 52-acre swath of Miami Beach. Commissioners recently asked the city manager to present alternatives to the original plan, which the city and South Beach ACE had been negotiating.

“South Beach ACE is actively engaged with the City of Miami Beach, working to determine a path forward for improving the convention center district and restoring the City’s standing among the nation’s top destinations for major events,” Tishman said in a statement to the Miami Herald.

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A public vote on Nov. 5 will also affect the approval process. Voters will decide whether a super-majority is required to approve leases of public land in the convention center district. At the moment, the city requires a simple majority of voters to make that call.

Under South Beach ACE’s plan, the total cost for the project is estimated at $1.1 billion. The city has pledged financing of the public component, including the convention center, through a hotel bed tax already approved by voters. [Miami Herald]Mark Maurer