A new mayoral administration in Miami Beach has cancelled a $1 billion plan to redevelop 52-acres around the city’s convention center, scrapping the plans of a design-build team that included Pritzker Prize-winning architect Rem Koolhaas.
New Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine has cancelled negotiations on a design-build contract for a $1 billion plan to redevelop the Miami Beach Convention Center district. The city had chosen South Beach ACE (which includes the Rem Koolhaas-led architecture firm OMA) after a competition in July, which would have renovated the convention center while also designing and building a new hotel and retail district.
Now Mayor Levine wants to move forward with the convention center renovation separately from the hotel development. Christina Vega reports that a requirement for a voter referendum (with 60 percent voter approval) to lease city property proved the unassailable obstacle for the South Beach ACE proposal. Now the convention center renovation can move forward without the referendum. “For the purposes of getting this project done fast, on time, on budget, it’s unfortunate that we’ll have to make a very tough, challenging decision,” Mayor Levine said. “To some people, it’s a little disheartening. To other people, it’s a very fresh start.”
Read the full story: Miami Beach kills $1B convention center project, prepares to start over
Voters Reject Miami Beach High-Rises
Developers planning to build above the city’s current height limit will have to go back to the drawing board.
Hurricane Ian Puts Renewed Focus on Florida's Barrier Islands
Ian did not impact Southeast Florida, but coastal residents there took notice of the state's deadliest hurricane since 1935 that devastated much of Southwest Florida last month, particularly the barrier islands off the Gulf Coast.
Pedestrians Briefly Take Back Miami Beach's Ocean Drive
Miami Beach reopened Ocean Drive to vehicles earlier this year at the request of hotel owners. So many pedestrians showed up to the famous street on a weekend earlier this month, however, that cars were blocked once again.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Amtrak, CN end decades-long dispute with eight-year agreement
The new operating agreement establishes an updated framework for the companies to work together, including processes to resolve disputes.
Judges permit Denver to divert 77,000 acre feet from the Colorado River for reservoir expansion
Overuse and climate change have caused the Colorado River’s water levels to plummet.
NYC plants over 18,000 trees, the most new foliage in a decade
Many of the trees were planted in communities vulnerable to extreme heat.
New bill requires California data center developers to create water scarcity plans
Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed 7 bills intended to give California communities more information about the impact of proposed data centers.
San Diego may kill one-third of its bus routes as budget crisis looms
Under the city's proposed plan, 21% of Metropolitan Transit System riders would lose access to transit services.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
KFH Group Inc.
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello