MIAMI – November 7, 2018 – The Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau (GMCVB) today applauds the City of Miami Beach voter super-majority approval to lease public land for a privately-funded convention headquarter hotel connected to the newly renovated and reimagined $620 million Miami Beach Convention Center (MBCC). The yes vote on ballot item #388 sets in motion the completion of Greater Miami’s convention center district. The future 800-room convention headquarter hotel to be located at the intersection of 17th street and Convention Center Drive is considered the missing ingredient in the destination’s meetings and convention package. The privately-funded future hotel will make Greater Miami more competitive in securing meetings business thereby fueling more travel and tourism jobs and increasing economic impact to the community.
The Miami Beach Convention Center (MBCC) is the anchor to Greater Miami's meetings and conventions industry. The reimagined and expanded MBCC includes a new 60,000 square-foot-grand-ballroom, 500,000 feet of exhibit space, 84 breakout rooms, and a new six-acre public park to serve as incremental event space. In September, Miami and the Beaches welcomed The American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), the first citywide convention to utilize the newly transformed, four interior halls of the new MBCC; quickly followed by The International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS) citywide convention last week. In just two short months, these conventions generated roughly $10 million in economic impact for the local community.
“We were fortunate to have early adopters like AHIMA who believed in the destination and booked the reimagined MBCC without a headquarter hotel,” said William D. Talbert, III, CDME, GMCVB President & CEO. “We knew they and others like them would not book again without a connected convention hotel. We have a world-class destination and now a world-class convention center package to offer meeting planners and clients.”
The MBCC while located within the City of Miami Beach, serves as Greater Miami’s regional meetings and convention facility. Rich in history and only two blocks from the ocean, the building provides meeting planners and convention delegates with a sense of place while serving as the crown jewel of the convention district. The new hotel will be an integral part of the convention district and will include a six-acre park providing beautiful new greenspace for convention attendees and locals alike.
“The City of Miami Beach residents have spoken loud and clear” said Dan Gelber, City of Miami Beach Mayor. “A super majority of nearly 64% is no easy feat and this is a huge victory for the City and for the community. The new privately-funded headquarter hotel, will generate funding for educational programs, traffic reduction measures and environmental resiliency projects.”
