Miami Beach moves to speed construction of convention hotel

The Grand Hyatt Miami Beach Convention Center Hotel continues to be atop Miami Beach’s project list as plans for the long-awaited hotel advance.

Commissioners passed at first reading last month a resolution amending the city code to “authorize the review and approval of certain requests for funding from the Redevelopment Trust Fund of the Miami Beach Redevelopment Agency to support the development of public areas of the convention center headquarters hotel.”

The item was sponsored by Commissioners Alex Fernandez and Tanya Bhatt.

The hotel beside the Miami Beach Convention Center at 17th Street and Convention Center Drive, which voters approved by a 65% vote in 2018, is to have 17 stories and 800 hotel rooms. Developers Terra and Turnberry say the hotel will generate more than 750 permanent jobs.

All are aware of the $640 million taxpayer investment made in the convention center, which was renovated in 2018, said Commissioner Fernandez. In order for the convention center to maximize its use, obtain the quality conventions that they want to see and capitalize on the taxpayer investment there, “we need to do whatever we can to finally, once and for all, move forward with the convention center hotel that our city desperately needs.”

“If we really want to see this area flourish the way that it was and continue supporting the economy on Lincoln Road and seeing the improvement on the caliber of conventions and tourists we attract to our city,” said Commissioner Fernandez, “we certainly need to move forward with this hotel that we must be seeing as an economic engine. This ordinance would be an instrument to help us move in that direction.”

The ordinance says the city desires to amend the section of the chapter in order to “permit the consideration of a grant of agency funds to the hotel developer to support the construction of the hotel, as previously authorized by the agency redevelopment plan, the redevelopment act, and the motion.”

This is important to the future of the city, said Commissioner Bhatt. It is constantly talked about “how we are changing the direction of the city from ‘a party ’til drop’ situation to tourists who come here to engage with what we have to offer, including businesses and business conventions coming to do business and spend money in our restaurants and hotels.”

With every passing year the hotel is delayed, said Commissioner Bhatt, costs increase and the funding gap gets bigger. There was flexibility due to the convention center not being fully redone, she said. Now that it is redone and conventions and meetings interested in coming to the city, opportunities are being lost with “big, large-scale, well-off conventions” due to not having a place for individuals to stay adjacent to the convention center.

“I know that we have a plethora of hotels in the city,” said Commissioner Bhatt, “and that is very appealing to the folks who had the luxury of not being attached to the convention center, but I will tell you, having worked a million different trade shows, when you’re … putting up the booth or bringing the samples in or making sure that you make those meetings at 7 a.m. before the show opens, you do not want to be hiking across town. You want to be able to take the elevator downstairs, cross a courtyard and go to the convention center. The faster we get this done, the better off we collectively will be as a city.”