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20160711 Minutes Mayor’s Ad Hoc Blue Ribbon Steering Committee on the Convention Center Hotel 2016/07/11 Meeting Minutes Page 1 of 5 Mayor’s Ad Hoc Blue Ribbon Steering Committee On the Convention Center Hotel 6:30 p.m., Monday, July 11, 2016 City Commission Chambers, City Hall 1700 Convention Center Drive, Miami Beach MEETING MINUTES In attendance: Commissioner Ricky Arriola, Chair Member Paul Freeman Member Saul Gross Member Debra Leibowitz Member Jorge Exposito (arrived at 6:57 p.m.) Jeff Oris, Administration Liaison Also in attendance: Commissioner Joy Malakoff Maria Hernandez, Convention Center District Project Director Ricky Arriola opened the meeting at 6:48 p.m. and welcomed all in attendance. 1. ROLL CALL Chair Ricky Arriola, Member Paul Freeman, Member Saul Gross and Member Debra Leibowitz all introduced themselves for the record. 2. OPEN DISCUSSION: POTENTIAL CONVENTION CENTER HOTEL SITES Chair Ricky Arriola stated the purpose of the Committee as well as provided a brief recap of the last few meetings in order to get the residents up to speed on what has been going on in regards to plans for the hotel. Chair Arriola stated the purpose of tonight’s meeting is to discuss other options for the Convention Center Hotel such as: the surface lot that is adjacent to the Jackie Gleas on Theater, going back to the current developer, Jack Portman and either tweaking the design or scraping it and starting again through a formal RFP process as well as look ing into additional sites for the hotel. a. INCORPORATION OF THE JACKIE GLEASON THEATER INTO A CONVENTION CENTER HOTEL Mayor’s Ad Hoc Blue Ribbon Steering Committee on the Convention Center Hotel 2016/07/11 Meeting Minutes Page 2 of 5 Member Paul Freeman indicated he believesd the Jackie Gleason Theater site would be a better site for the hotel, but the site can only accommodate a lower structure hotel (600 rooms). Member Paul Freeman also stated that traffic would have to be recirculated, but a major issue with the site might be if people believed the Jackie Gleason Theater is historic to the area. Member Saul Gross specified a 270 foot tall hotel is too large for the available site and did not seem in context with the surrounding buildings given the current 100 foot height limit in the area. Member Gross postulated that there should be a reduction in the height of the hotel that is more compatible with the Lincoln Road and is more in context with South Beach’s real estate. He further questioned how to obtain more land and suggested the Jackie Gleason Theater property. Chair Arriola reiterated that the mission of this committee is to get the Convention Center hotel built and in order to do that, a plan must pass the 60% threshold. The last proposal obtained 54% resident votes, where some of the major concerns of the residents were height and traffic. Resident David Wieder stated he has been a part of the historic preservation board for the past 6 years. The issues with the construction projects are the details. Mr. Wieder asked if a hotel is really needed. He further indicated his belief there is no need for one, but if a hotel were created, it would be best to incorporate the Jackie Gleason Theater into the hotel in order to avoid having an overwhelming height that in not conducive to the area. Weider further stated that the public must be completely informed as to what the project will look like. Former Resident Dirk DeSouza started a petition on social media called Save the Fillmore. He stated if it is proposed that Jackie Gleason Theater is knocked down to make way for the Convention Center Hotel, even if a new Jackie Gleason Theater would be incorporated into the hotel, he would fight against this because he does not believe the legacy of the Jackie Gleason Theater should be destroying it. He continued that the Jackie Gleason Theater is history; the Fillmore is a brand. The Miami Beach brand is architecturally significant. Mr. DeSouza expressed that the opportunity cost is too high. Live Nation has dozens of shows at the Fillmore each year and DeSousza asked if the Fillmore were closed for 3+ years where will the shows be showcased. Resident Laura Quinlan has a non-profit organization that at times rents the Fillmore for events. She stated the Jackie Gleason Theater is not replaceable. The city needs more preforming arts places, more theater, and more clubs. Ms. Quinlan suggested the new hotel should have a performing arts space within it. Resident Jo Manning stated that the 60% threshold is not attainable. People were made to believe that the height of the hotel was unattainable, there were no other options, and that traffic would be a major issue. There are other options and traffic is not the issue. A 600 room hotel is too small and if this is a final proposal, the Convention Center Hotel is doomed. Ms. Manning believes the Jackie Gleason Theater is not an icon and there is a need for the Convention Center Hotel. Mayor’s Ad Hoc Blue Ribbon Steering Committee on the Convention Center Hotel 2016/07/11 Meeting Minutes Page 3 of 5 Resident Kris Milan is in agreeance with Jo Manning. She doesn’t believe that the existing theater is the historic building people remember. There should be a way to incorporating the Jackie Gleason Theater into Convention Center Hotel while still preserving a theater. Resident Jody Lang (with Miami Liaison) stated based on her experience, the primary question clients want to know are: number of hotel rooms, convenience of the hotel to attendees of conventions. She indicated that we should conserve our city but we need to take the business aspects into account. She stated she is in favor of a Convention Center Hotel, but not a tall one. Resident Howard Herring (President of the New World Symphony) discussed the key elements of the City Center area including Lincoln Road and the culture in the area. He stated there is a need to figure transportation in order to get people from Miami International Airport, across the causeways and circulating through the city. Mr. Herring also stated in order to protect the wall casting; we need protection for sound and light pollution that may be due to the location of a hotel. He believed the program for the hotel needs to be considered and how all the programs come together for the pieces that make up the area including the potential use of the P lot. Resident Maureen Nez expressed her support of preserving the Jackie Gleason Theater. b. P LOT SITE Resident Trish Hildridge stated that the P-Lot has been overlooked. She stated the park is not really used in the morning, it is primarily used at night and the acoustics are amazing. Ms. Hildridge expressed that this process not be used and the residents be provided with visuals (massing). Chair Ricky Arriola stated that getting the Convention Center Hotel on the November ballot would be impossible. Member Saul Gross stated that every bridge tournament he goes to is held at a Convention Center Hotel, therefore he has never been to a tournament that didn’t have one and he frequents them quite often. The Bridge Nationals that was held in Miami Beach about 20 years ago was held at the Fontainebleau because there was a hotel and convention facility together at that site. Resident Henry Stolar stated that he is very much in favor of a Convention Center Hotel but 600 rooms are not enough, 600 is an absolute minimum. Stolar suggested there needs to be an 800 or 1200 room and to take into consideration the parking lot across the street plus the Jackie Gleason and the P Lot to whatever extent can be preserved as a park. Niesen Kasdin, representing Live Nation, indicated Live Nation is willing to discuss demolition of the Jackie Gleason and the construction of a new facility as long as it can be done in a manner that is economicaly sound for them. On a personal note, Kasdin Mayor’s Ad Hoc Blue Ribbon Steering Committee on the Convention Center Hotel 2016/07/11 Meeting Minutes Page 4 of 5 stated he believes it is important to integrate and connect the Convention Center with the rest of the city. Mr. Kasdin indicated that people should be drawn to the intersection of Washington Avenue and 17th Street. He stated to get there it would help to put the hotel at the originally proposed 18th street site including the Jackie Gleason Theater. 3. OPEN DISSCUSSION: HOTEL DESIGN AND CONTEXTUAL CONSIDERATIONS 4. PUBLIC INPUT Resident Dave Aitel stated that he organized a midsize conference every year for information security professional. The only place that can fit 200 to 350 people is the Fontainebleau. The Loews doesn’t have a room big enough for an actual conference. The Fillmore is also a good option and he has seen competitors go there for conferences. His conferences can use up to 700 room nights for a weekend and that’s for a very small conference. Mr. Aitel indicated his group wouldn’t use the Convention Center without a hotel because it is too difficult to collect people from around South Beach. He further stated he doesn’t believe the traffic study that the bigger the hotel the less the impact on traffic. Resident Tonya Bhatt stated she believes that the Miami Beach Convention Center Hotel should be severed by large conventions or it would result in a disservice. There are also opportunities for a Convention Center Hotel as well as for local hotels. The space and service the Fillmore provides needs to be protected. Putting a no name architect on a symbol such as Miami Beach is a lost opportunity. Madeline Alveno, a patron of the New World Symphony, voted against the Convention Center Hotel as did her friends because they were afraid the traffic would interfere with the pleasures of going to the Wallcast. Debi Quade wants a Convention Center Hotel. She stated she goes to conventions to network. With a convention center hotel she can be at every networking and after hour party event instead of hoping for one location to the next and then finding out she missed out on what’s going on. Ms. Quade believes airspace is critical and what makes beauty. She would rather see the hotel pushed back and the corner be incorporated with more airspace before it hits a solid building of the Convention Center and a Hotel. Christine Florez stated that there is a business aspect to the Convention Center Hotel that does not involve tourism. Convention Center Hotel must add to the brand of Miami Beach. The P-Lot, if used as a park space should be used to address the rise of sea levels. The green space should be used for the arts or an educational institution. Rolando Aedo, Marketing Officer of Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau believes a thousand room minimum for a convention center hotel would be ideal and 800 is the bottom threshold. He stated anything below that would be counterproductive and would be a disservice to the City of Miami Beach investment in the Convention Center. Mayor’s Ad Hoc Blue Ribbon Steering Committee on the Convention Center Hotel 2016/07/11 Meeting Minutes Page 5 of 5 Mr. Aedo stated Broward is building an 800 room hotel for a Convention Center that is half the size of our convention center. Miami has a 1,700 room hotel being built Downtown in its final stage, approximately 500,000 square feet of meeting space within that 100,000 square feet of exhibit space is significantly smaller, which is a quarter of the size of the Miami Beach Convention Center. Resident David Kelsey expressed that he was very puzzled with the location and the height from the March referendum and that it wouldn’t pass, which it didn’t. The P Lot made sense, going from a 2 acre lot behind the Gleason to a 6 acre lot in front of the Convention Center. There are 800 cars being parked there now. If you were to put a hotel on top of it you would be able to spread the hotel and not have a problem with height. Mr. Kelsey believes traffic can get in and out from all four sides as opposed to the Gleason. Resident Christina Labuzetta is in favor of a low scale hotel in terms of statue and size. Ms. Labuzetta thinks there should be a campus like space with some greenspace, a couple levels of parking underneath, and more in scale with the community. This shouldn’t be rushed to the November ballot different opinion should be discussed like massing. 5. GENERAL DISCUSSION Maria Hernandez stated there are 1,700 labors currently on the project. Right now, the P Lot Park is a part of the Convention Center Project. To remove the P Lot Park would require commission action. The design has been approved by the Design Review Board and by the City Commission. Chair Ricky Arriola stated that an FIU survey will be coming out in the next 4 to 6 weeks. The results will be public and shared in upcoming meetings. Member Saul Gross stated there will be future discussion about opening up 18th street to traffic might help address and relieve some of the traffic on 17th street. The needs assessment for a hotel needs to be refreshed. This is not going on the November ballot. Discussion continued regarding the main issues with building the Convention Center Hotel. The committee thanked the public for their input. 6. ADJOURN The meeting was adjourned at 8:31 pm.