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
Multifamily Housing | Oct 15, 2020
L.A., all the way
KFA Architecture has hitched its wagon to Los Angeles’s star for more than 40 years.
Architects | Oct 14, 2020
The Weekly Show: AI for building facade inspections; designing a world-class architecture firm
The October 15 episode of BD+C's "The Weekly" is available for viewing on demand.
Coronavirus | Oct 8, 2020
The Weekly show: Statue of Liberty Museum, emotional learning in K-12, LA's climate change vulnerability
The October 8 episode of BD+C's "The Weekly" is available for viewing on demand.
Architects | Oct 8, 2020
Gensler’s annual report chronicles the firm’s ‘transformation’
The firm positions itself as a leading voice for how building design plays a central role in meeting society’s evolving demands.
Smart Buildings | Oct 1, 2020
Smart buildings stand on good data
The coming disruption of owning and operating a building and how to stay ahead through BIM.
Architects | Oct 1, 2020
BIG imagines how we could live on the moon
The architecture firm has partnered with ICON on the project.
Architects | Sep 30, 2020
Sir David Adjaye OBE to receive 2021 Royal Gold Medal for Architecture
His practice, Adjaye Associates, was founded in 2000 and today has studios in Accra, London and New York, with projects across the world.
Coronavirus | Sep 28, 2020
Evaluating and investing resources to navigate past the COVID-19 pandemic
As AEC firm leaders consider worst-case scenarios and explore possible solutions to surmount them, they learn to become nimble, quick, and ready to pivot as circumstances demand.
Coronavirus | Sep 24, 2020
The Weekly show: Building optimization tech, the future of smart cities, and storm shelter design
The September 24 episode of BD+C's "The Weekly" is available for viewing on demand.
Healthcare Facilities | Sep 10, 2020
Easing the oncology journey: The role of urgent care
Oncology patients are better served when they’re connected to the right staff.
