Miami Beach on Monday received qualifications from eight teams interested in a public-private partnership with the city to develop a 52-acre Miami Beach Convention Center District.
The area encompasses an existing 1.16 million-square-foot convention center. The city wants to add another 960,000 square feet and redevelop city-owned surrounding areas to include a new convention center hotel, outdoor public space, parking, restaurants and entertainment, as well as retail, commercial and residential areas. The plan could cost $1 billion or more.
In February, the city sent out a request for qualifications and asked developers to describe how the project would be financed, including equity contributions, source of equity and any “public participation” being sought.
The RFQ also said that the city was “interested in P3-type financing related to the public components that minimizes or eliminates the city’s need to use its bonding capacity or other public funds.”
The City Council has also discussed increasing the local tourist tax by 1% to secure bonds for the convention center project if necessary.
The council is expected to vote May 9 on whether to place the required tax referendum on Florida’s Aug. 14 primary ballot.
A short list of potential developers is expected to be recommended to the City Commission on June 6. Those developers will be asked to submit proposals in July, and a selection is expected by late October.
