The city of Miami has awarded an $11 million contract for its on-again, off-again convention center renovation to Denver-based Fentress Architects, which will serve as the design criteria professional on this project.
City Commissioners voted unanimously (with one commissioner absent) in favor of Fentress over seven other contenders, according to the Miami Herald. The design plans that Fentress draws up will serve as the basis for the city’s weighing bids from design-build firms to complete this project.
The renovation has been controversial. A larger plan that would have spanned 52 acres across South Beach and cost $1 billion got scrapped after the election of a new mayor and three new commissioners. The designs for that larger plan got nixed only six months after the city had awarded developer South Beach ACE and the architectural firm OMA.
Fentress is working with New York-based architecture, design, and planning firm Arquitectonica and the urban-design and landscape architect West 8 on a scaled-down masterplan whose price tag is estimated at $500 million. The renovation will include the convention center’s 500,000-sf exhibition hall, its 200,000-sf of existing meeting spaces, and a new 70,000-sf ballroom and outdoor event area. The facility’s existing parking lot will be converted into a 6.5-acre public park.
The Herald reports that the park will include a memorial to Miami Beach’s military vets, and a small café. A 1.8-acre park along the north side of the convention center will have more than 1,000 feet of renovated space.
City Manager Jimmy Morales is quoted as stating that his office staff expects to present recommendations for design-build firms to the City Commission by Nov. 19. If there are no hitches, the renovation should begin by December 2015, the convention center should be completed by 2017, and the park by the following year.
Related Stories
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Jan 25, 2018
Virginia Beach: A surf town with a wave problem no more
A world-class surf park will highlight Virginia Beach’s new live-work-play development.
Multifamily Housing | Jan 24, 2018
Apartment rent rates jump 2.5% in 2017, led by small and mid-sized markets
The average price for one-bedroom units increased the most.
Architects | Jan 24, 2018
Danish design firm Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects joins Perkins+Will
Partnership expands Schmidt Hammer Lassen’s capacity for international growth; complements Perkins+Will’s design philosophy and strengthens the firm’s cultural practice.
Hotel Facilities | Jan 24, 2018
U.S. hotel markets with the largest construction pipelines
Dallas, Houston, and New York lead the way, with more than 460 hotel projects in the works.
Architects | Jan 24, 2018
Strong finish for architecture billings in 2017
The Architecture Billings Index concluded the year in positive terrain, with the December reading capping off three straight months of growth in design billings.
Architects | Jan 19, 2018
CTBUH announces global finalist projects for annual awards program
The Lotte World Tower, in Seoul, and 150 N. Riverside, in Chicago, are among the finalists.
Architects | Jan 10, 2018
NELSON and FRCH Design Worldwide are merging
Their chief executives will manage the company jointly, by region.
Architects | Jan 10, 2018
7 steps to ending a low growth cycle
Here are the top 10 marketing techniques as rated by high-growth firms and how they compare to their no-growth counterparts.
Architects | Jan 8, 2018
ZGF Founding Partner Robert Frasca, 84, passes away
Frasca was a driving force in transforming the architectural firm from its early beginnings as a regional office into one of the nation’s largest practices, with 600 design professionals across six offices in the U.S. and Canada.
