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1675-7 Loews [RETURN] to continue or type q to return to Menu: ❑ mh95 HOTEL'S OPENING 10/22/1995 THE MIAMI HERALD Copyright (c) 1995, The Miami Herald DATE: Sunday, October 22, 1995 EDITION: FINAL SECTION: NEIGHBORS MB PAGE: 20 LENGTH: 21 lines SOURCE/CREDIT LINE: Herald Staff HOTEL'S OPENING TOPIC OF LUNCHEON Jonathan Tisch, president of Loews Hotels, will discuss the economic impact his company's new 830-room hotel will have on South Beach at a Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce luncheon at noon Wednesday at the Doral Ocean Beach Resort, 4833 Collins Ave. The convention hotel is scheduled to open at Collins Avenue and 16th Street in the fall of 1997. The blue-and-white, 16-story Deco-style hotel will be the first major hotel to open in Miami Beach in 30 years, and second in size only to the 1,266-room Fontainebleau Hilton. Armando Codina, the project's developer, will also speak at the luncheon. To reserve a seat, call 672-1270. TAG: 9503080734 4 of 8, 2 Terms mh95 MIAMI BEACH CONVENTION HOTEL ON HORIZON 04/30/1995 THE MIAMI HERALD Copyright (c) 1995, The Miami Herald DATE: Sunday, April 30, 1995 EDITION: FINAL SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: 4B LENGTH: 43 lines SOURCE/CREDIT LINE: FRAN BRENNAN Herald Staff firiter MIAMI BEACH CONVENTION HOTEL ON HORIZON Miami Beach and Loews Hotels have unveiled a proposed agreement for the development and management of an 830-room convention hotel -- a deal that is markedly better than the city initially expected when it awarded the hotel project -- and its millions of dollars of city incentives -- to Loews in July. If Beach commissioners approve the letter of intent at their meeting Wednesday, Loews president Jonathan Tisch said the company will begin design and financial development Thursday, and then start soliciting bookings for the anticipated opening in the fall of 1997. The blue-and-white Deco-style hotel will tower 16 stories above the ocean on Collins Avenue and 16th Street. Its opening would be the first for a major hotel in Miami Beach in three decades, and it would be second in size only to the 1,266-room Fontainebleau Hilton. Among changes that have improved the city's position since the bid was awarded last year: Loews' base rent on the city- owned property will increase every 10 years based on inflation; the city is guaranteed an 8 percent minimum return on its $20 million land investment; hotel operators will sign a long-term agreement with the Miami Beach Convention Center, committing rooms for convention events; hotel management must meet city quality and financial standards to keep the job; and Loews will foot the bill for the hotel portion of a parking garage on the site. Miami Beach will invest $29 million in the project, down $11 million from the original commitment of $40 million. The city also will put $3 million into public improvements -- boardwalk, landscaping, sidewalks -- in the area surrounding the hotel. Arthur Courshon, chairman of Jefferson Bank and head of the city's negotiating team, called the deal a victory for the city. "What I didn't expect was to get as good a deal as we got, " Courshon said. "The city will get its money back -- unless you have an economic disaster that will affect the whole world. " Most community members who attended Friday's workshop at Miami Beach City Hall said they expected the hotel to revitalize the city's convention center, which has suffered in recent years because of the lack of convenient, quality accommodations. Several critics, however, again questioned the use of city funds for a private project. TAG: 9501300147 8 of 8, 6 Terms UNCONVENTIONAL START FOR CONVENTION HOTEL 09/27/1996 THE MIAMI HERALD Copyright (c) 1996, The Miami Herald DATE: Friday, September 27, 1996 EDITION: Final SECTION: Business PAGE: 1C LENGTH: 40 lines ILLUSTRATION: photo: Ana Arias and fellow students from South Pointe Elementary are ready to help the new hotel get started, Loews hotel chain president Jonathan Tisch stands on the roof of the Sony building on Lincoln Road (2-a) SOURCE/CREDIT LINE: Herald Staff MEMO: ran as a outline UNCONVENTIONAL START FOR CONVENTION HOTEL Thursday was the day Dade tourism officials have long been waiting for. In an entertainment- and people-packed celebration Loews Hotels broke ground and signed the meeting contracts for the first major hotel in Miami Beach in 30 years. The 800-room project will combine construction of a 17-story tower with renovation of the old St. Moritz hotel, a 10-story Art Deco remnant seen just over the shoulder of hotel chain president Jonathan Tisch The hotel project brings the Tisch family back to South Florida, where they opened the Americana -- now the Sheraton Bal Harbour -- 40 years ago. The $135 million luxury convention hotel at Collins Avenue and 16th Street includes $50 million in city support in the form of the land and amenities. Loews is putting in $40 million and lenders $66 million. Tourism executives hope the project will spur more convention business. Already, 700,000 room nights are tentatively booked by audiologists, hematologists, nephrologists and others. "The interest to date has been very exciting, very promising, " said Jonathan Tisch, president of the 14-hotel Loews chain. Meanwhile, Loews has committed to two other Florida properties: resort hotels at MCA's Universal Studios in Orlando set to open in 1999. CAPTION: AL DIAZ / Herald Staff C.W. GRIFFIN / Herald Staff IT STARTS WITH A SHOVEL: Above, Ana Arias and fellow students from South Pointe Elementary are ready to help the new hotel get started. Left, Loews hotel chain president Jonathan Tisch stands on the roof of the Sony building on Lincoln Road Mall with the ocean, and the hotel site, in the background. KEYWORDS: OPENING TAG: 9610032903 1 of 4, 11 Terms mh96 MAN WITH THE MIDAS TOUCH TISCH PLANS BEACH HOTEL 09/25/1996 THE MIAMI HERALD Copyright (c) 1996, The Miami Herald DATE: Wednesday, September 25, 1996 EDITION: Final SECTION: Business PAGE: 7B LENGTH: 79 lines ILLUSTRATION: photo: Loews Hotels (n) ; chart: Loews Hotels-map location Loews Miami Beach Hotel SOURCE/CREDIT LINE: By DALE K. DuPONT Herald Business Writer MAN WITH THE MIDAS TOUCH TISCH PLANS BEACH HOTEL When his family opened the Americana -- now the Sheraton Bal Harbour -- 40 years ago, one goal was to attract the lucrative convention trade. Now, Jonathan M. Tisch is about to launch a hotel himself, the Loews Miami Beach, a $135 million, 800-room luxury resort tourism executives hope will breathe new life into the convention business. —It has been quite a process, " said Tisch, settling into Loews' brand new Lincoln Road offices. And tomorrow he'll see further proof of the prize he won over five competitors. The Loews Hotels president and chief executive is in town for the Thursday ground breaking of the first major hotel to be built in Miami Beach in 30 years. A vocal proponent of the travel industry who grew up working at the family's inns, Tisch is pleased at the public/private partnership that will put his high-end brand name in a new market. "We don't get involved in anything capricious, " he said. "The city incentive was very important to creating a project that will stand out in terms of other projects. " Loews is putting in $40 million in equity, corporate guarantees or loans and operating reserves. A consortium of banks, led by Bankers Trust is providing $66 million. City incentives include the land and parking facilities. As soon as the building starts, Loews will work furiously to convert 700,000 tentative room nights into definite bookings. Average rates will be $155. Occupancy the first year after the late summer 1998 opening is projected at 70 percent, and Tisch predicts 70 percent of that will be group business. ''We're hearing tremendous excitement about the property, " Tisch said, noting South Beach's renown. ''People say, 'Gee, that's great, my group hasn't been to Miami Beach in 15 years. ' " Loews -- a "fast-rising boutique operator" -- could spur other development from hoteliers who were waiting for someone else to enter the market first, said Chase Burritt, managing director of hospitality services for Ernst & Young Kenneth Leventhal in Miami. "They are very, very astute investors, very cash-flow oriented investors. When the Tisches are putting money into something, it's going to be a hit, " said Thomas Hoens, an analyst with Fitch Investors Services. "A company like Loews has the balance sheet to do this themselves. They have $2 of cash for every $1 of debt. " The Loews Corp. is a massive New York holding company whose interests include CNA Insurance, Lorillard, the tobacco company that makes Kent, Newport and other cigarettes, Bulova Corp. , Diamond Offshore Drilling, and 14 hotels and resorts in the United States, Canada and Monaco. . With assets of $65 billion, the company is controlled by the Tisch family, which also held the biggest voting block of stock in CBS, the network Westinghouse bought last year for $5.4 billion. CBS was headed by Jonathan Tisch's uncle, Laurence Tisch. The Miami Beach project is not the company's only new Florida venture. In May, Loews and MCA announced plans for two luxury hotels at Orlando's Universal City Resort opening in 1999. Loews will contribute $120 million in equity in the $600 million project in exchange for a 50 percent stake in the Orlando hotels. Tisch was excited by the chance to develop two properties in partnership with MCA that will be part of the expanded Orlando attraction. Miami and Orlando are different markets, Tisch said. Here, they're selling the beach, the appeal of South Beach, the Miami Beach Convention Center and history, he said. In Orlando, they're selling a manmade resort. Any trade Tisch brings will help the area's No. 1 industry. Convention business makes up 12 percent of Dade's tourism and 10 percent of Broward's, compared to 40 percent for most competitors. The Miami Beach project will be developed by the Codina Group, a prominent South Florida real estate company, and the Forest City Ratner Cos. , one of the largest public commercial developers in the United States. The Ratners also have longstanding ties to Miami Beach. The family built the Clevelander Hotel on Ocean Drive in 1938. With the Loews, the Tisch family returns to the hotel business in South Florida that started with the Dec. 1, 1956 opening of the Americana, where Tisch learned to swim. Although there was some family interest in a property a little farther up the coast. Tisch said his parents honeymooned at the Hollywood Beach Hotel in 1948. t KEYWORDS: STATISTIC LOEWS HOTEL PROFILE COST MB TISCH ASSET TAG: 9610032322 mh97 NEW 17-STORY HOTEL ON S. BEACH 11/23/1997 THE MIAMI HERALD Copyright (c) 1997, The Miami Herald DATE: Sunday, November 23, 1997 EDITION: Final SECTION: Neighbors MB PAGE: 2 LENGTH: 102 lines ILLUSTRATION: photo: Jonathan Tisch and Pat Riley and Chris Riley, Heather Grosz and Marlene Post and Eddyse Kessler, Ken DeFilippo and Jerry Merlo and Raymond Marin, Yvonne Gomez and Chris Perry and Susan Heyer SOURCE/CREDIT LINE: BEA MOSS Herald Staff Writer NEW 17-STORY HOTEL ON S. BEACH PASSES MILESTONE IN CONSTRUCTION Loews Hotels President and Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Tisch recently helped with the topping off tradition of placing a tree on top of the new 17-story tower of Loews Miami Beach Hotel at Collins Avenue and 16th Street. Joining him to mark the milestone in the project's development as it progresses toward its October 1998 opening were former Miami Beach Mayor Seymour Gelber , members of the City Commission and more than 200 business and civic leaders. During the ceremonies, Miami Heat Coach Pat Riley and his wife Chris announced they would be co-chairmen of the benefit committee for the gala grand opening in March 1999. Hadassah leader . Heather Grosz of Miami Beach recently returned from Israel where she took part in Hadassah's Young Women's Mission. Selected for her outstanding leadership skills, Grosz joined 27 other young women from across the country for an intensive program of seminars, study and sightseeing that examined the social, intellectual and political issues facing Israel today. Selected from among hundreds of nominees, Grosz, a communications coordinator, is a member of the Or Chadash Chapter of the Greater Miami Region of Hadassah. She serves as administrative vice president of her chapter. Bistro opening benefit Local dignitaries gathered at the recent opening of P.F. Chang's China Bistro in North Miami Beach to feast on Chinese cuisine and support the efforts of South Florida Food Recovery. Throughout its opening week, the restaurant donated a dollar from every check to the organization whose mission is to feed Florida's hungry and homeless. Approximately $2, 000 was raised. Museum benefit The 39th annual Orange Bowl Luncheon and Fashion Show in December will take on a South Beach flair this year and feature fashions by the Lincoln Road boutique Fashion Arena. In years past, the fashion extravaganza has taken place at various locations including the Radisson Mart, the Crowne Plaza and the Biltmore Hotel, said show chairwoman Anne Cruxent of Coral Gables. This year the event, sponsored by Ocean Drive magazine, returns to the Fontainebleau Hilton, where it began in 1958. The show and luncheon is the largest, all-volunteer fund-raiser for the Miami Museum of Science and Space Transit Planetarium and averages about 800 guests each year. A social hour starts it off at 10:30 a.m. Ldec. 29, with the luncheon and show following. Tickets range from $100 per person ringside to $65 for general seating. Bus service aboard American Bus Lines will be available from the museum to the Fontainebleau for $10 per person. For more information or tickets, call 285-5500 any time. Volunteer honors For 23 years, the Senior Companion Program sponsored by the Miami-Dade County Community Action Agency has provided volunteer opportunities for seniors to assist frail elderly and adults with special needs, including those with Alzheimer's disease. Those volunteers will be recognized for their dedication at a luncheon in their honor starting at 11 a.m. Dec. 2 at the Wyndham Crowne Plaza Hotel, 1601 Biscayne Blvd. Anyone interested in finding out more about the Senior Companion Program can call program director Cristina Oliva at 347-4851 any time. Fund-raiser for kids A fund-raising party to benefit the Jackson Memorial Foundation will take place Dec. 2 at Morton's of Chicago, The Steakhouse, which recently opened a Miami branch at 1200 Brickell Ave. Guests will be able to sample Morton's fare, which will include hot and cold buffet offerings. Proceeds from the evening will help fund the expansion and modernization of Jackson Children's Hospital at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center. Tickets for Morton's gala opening are $75. For more information or tickets, call the foundation, 585-7260, any time. 1 of 3, 7 Terms mh97 LOEWS HOTEL GREETS 10/29/1997 THE MIAMI HERALD Copyright (c) 1997, The Miami Herald DATE: Wednesday, October 29, 1997 EDITION: Final SECTION: Business PAGE: 7B LENGTH: 111 lines ILLUSTRATION: photo: A palm is placed on the rooftop of the Loews Hotel under construction (a) , Jorge Gonzalez (a) SOURCE/CREDIT LINE: By DALE K. DuPONT Herald Business Writer MEMO: see ABOUT LOEWS at end of text LOEWS HOTEL GREETS MANAGER WITH MISSION After a giant crane lifted a coconut palm atop the concrete skeleton of the Loews Miami Beach, Jorge Gonzalez had just one year left to make sure the 800-room luxury hotel opens and operates flawlessly. But the $135 million Loews marking a construction milestone Tuesday is more than just a high-profile project with a boss who's good at logistics. Gonzalez, the hotel's managing director, is easing himself into a community that's counting on the hotel to do everything from increasing convention business and employment to raising industry service standards. It already has been given credit for helping spark neighborhood renovation and development and has a healthy number of advance bookings. —I think service is the biggest challenge we have, " Gonzalez said. But it's nothing new to a man who spent 20 /ears with Hyatt before joining Ritz-Carlton in 1992 to open its hotel in Cancun the following year. The pitfall in opening a property the size of Loews is finding the proper staff to run it, said Jim Hisle, managing director of the Statler Hotel at Cornell University -- training ground for the school's renowned hospitality program. —It will be a big reflection on how well the hotel operates and on Miami Beach itself. " Too often, many say, hoteliers are just looking for warm bodies to fill a vacancy. Successful operators spend a lot of time and effort on employees. Loews made an effort to get Gonzalez, whose Lincoln Road office gives him a view of the Collins Avenue hotel -- though he doesn't oversee the construction. He was happily working at the Ritz-Carlton in Naples when he got a call about the Loews. He wasn't interested. A week later, he got another call. He thought aboutit some more. "It's a unique project. There's no other South Beach in the United States, " Gonzalez said. "I don't think there are many other destinations as hot as this, business wise. " And Gonzalez, 43, had made a reputation for him self. Raised in the hotel business in Mexico where his father helped start Balsa Hotels, he thought about being an architect, but dropped out after one year in college. "My true love is the hotel business, " Gonzalez said. He started with Hyatt as a management trainee in Houston, where he loaded and unloaded supplies and had a chain-smoking boss with a Texas drawl so thick he had to ask a co-worker to interpret the orders. Other jobs with Hyatt took him from Puerto Rico to Northern California. Then he joined Ritz-Carlton before coming to Loews a year ago. "He's a very fair individual. Good ethics. A hard worker. He has a lot of empathy for employees, but he also has a good business head, " said Joe Kordsmeier, a former Hyatt executive who has known Gonzalez for more than 20 years. • Loews has a reputation for hiring well, said Kordsmeier, who's now getting ready to reopen the Beacon Hotel in South Beach. "They don't go after you unless you have something on the ball. " The project marks the return of Loews' Tisch family to South Florida, where it opened the Americana, now the Sheraton Bal Harbour, in 1956. Loews, a large holding company whose interests include CNA Insurance, Lorillard Tobacco and Bulova, has 14 hotels and resorts. It also is planning two luxury hotels in Orlando. "Their philosophy is to become a community partner. And Jorge is a reflection of their philosophy, " said Stu Blumberg, head of the Greater Miami & the Beaches Hotel Association. Gonzalez is on the boards of a number of organizations, including the state and local hotel associations, the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce. The industry is counting on the new Loews, just blocks from the Miami Beach Convention Center, to attract big conventions. A Loews sales staff already has started booking business: 150,000 group nights through the end of 1999 -- about half of what's available. "That's excellent, " said Scott Berman, director of Coopers & Lybrand's hospitality consulting group in Miami. And the Loews expects to run more than 60 percent full its first year. The sales force is finding people who have never been to South Florida or haven't been in years. "Pure fun, " Gonzalez said. "This is what South Beach is. " But he also knows travelers will forget the fun if they aren't treated well at their hotel. "Training just doesn't happen the first three days you hire somebody, " he said. "It has to be constant. " "An employee has to feel good about coming to work on a day-to-day basis, " he said. Little things matter. Employee restrooms must be as clean as those for guests. That approach yielded a turnover rate of 30 percent at the Ritz-Carlton in Cancun. The industry averages 46.8 percent turnover among non-management employees and 26.8 percent for management, according to the American Hotel & Motel Association. Training pays off, Gonzalez said. Turnover can cost a company $5, 000 to $7,000 per employee. "It's an industry where people move a great deal. And Loews doesn't have a reputation for people jumping regularly, " Berman said. The Loews is starting to hire executives. It also will participate in initiatives designed to get people off welfare and expects to hire 25 to 50 workers through the program. "It's a responsibility we should all have, " Gonzalez said. noweb ABOUT LOEWS The Loews Miami Beach Hotel on Collins Avenue at 16th Street was topped off Tuesday and is scheduled to open October 1998: * It will open with 600 employees and hire 200 more in season. * This is the first major hotel to be built in Miami Beach in 30 years. * 700 rooms will be on floors four through 17 in the main, building; 100 will be in the art deco St. Moritz, just to the south of the main building. The Fontainebleau Hilton has 1,200; Loews has more rooms than the 600-plus at Sheraton Bal Harbour, Intercontinental, Hyatt Regency and Biscayne Bay Marriott. * Published rates are $200-$385 but will vary. KEYWORDS: PROFILE STATISTIC COST CUTLINES HARLES TRAINOR, JR. / HERALD STAFF TREE TOP: A PALM IS PLACED ON THE ROOFTOP OF THE LOEWS HOTEL UNDER CONSTRUCTION IN MIAMI BEACH. TAG: 9710311133 2 of 3, 22 Terms mh97 CURRENT PROJECTS: 03/17/1997 THE MIAMI HERALD Copyright (c) 1997, The Miami Herald DATE: Monday, March 17, 1997 EDITION: Final SECTION: Business Monday PAGE: 25BM LENGTH: 40 lines SOURCE/CREDIT LINE: Herald Staff MEMO: COVER STORY CURRENT PROJECTS: FROM DEVELOPING TO LEASING, MANAGING Some of the division to oversee the building. * Convention hotel -- Through his relationship with the Tisch family, Codina is co-developing and building a $135 million convention hotel for Loew's Corp. , the first such project on Miami Beach in 30 years. The Tisches own Loew's. * Blue Lagoon office park -- In a deal with AMB Institutional Realty Advisors, Codina brokered its recent sale. AMB, of San Francisco, has hired him to manage the property, near Miami International Airport. * Florida Schoolhouse Developers -- In one of his first endeavors with PRT Press [RETURN] to continue or type q to return to Menu: ❑ mh94 LOEWS WINS BATTLE TO BUILD BEACH HOTEL 07/22/1994 THE MIAMI HERALD Copyright (c) 1994, The Miami Herald DATE: Friday, July 22, 1994 EDITION: FINAL SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: 1C LENGTH: 65 lines SOURCE/CREDIT LINE: ANTHONY FAIOLA Herald Business Writer LOEWS WINS BATTLE TO BUILD BEACH HOTEL Soon to be towering 16 stories over the sands of South Beach, a curvaceous new landmark hotel meant to turn back the clock on Dade County tourism. The 830-room Loews Hotel Miami Beach, of a scope and grandeur not seen on this oceanside town in more than two decades, won a fierce contest Thursday before city commissioners for more than $70 million in city incentives. The hotel would become Dade's second largest after the 1,266-room Fontainebleau Hilton on Miami Beach. Construction is slated to begin early next year, and should be completed in 1997. The commission also voted unanimously to begin negotiations for up to $10 million in loans to help build a 265- room Sher.aton Suites Resort proposed by four Miami black businessmen. The measure was part of Miami Beach's promise to lure a black hotelier to the island after the end of Dade's black tourism boycott. "This is a historic moment for Miami. Beach, " Mayor Seymour Gelber said after unanimous votes on both projects. "We've suffered through some bad times, but if anything is a sign of our new prosperity, this is. " The Loews Hotel, a blue and white modern deco palace, will be situated on a city-owned oceanfront site at 16th Street and Collins Avenue. The project, which incorporates a renovation of the historic St. Moritz Hotel, is expected to buoy the island's vast but money-losing convention center. The next step: City-hired negotiators begin crafting a final contract with the winning partnership between the 14- property Loews chain, controlled by the powerful Tisch Family of New York, and Forest City Ratner Cos. , a huge real estate developer led by the Ratner famil/ of Cleveland. In addition to the city's incentives, the group also needs to line up additional financing to complete the $165.7 million project. If for some reason those negotiations break down, waiting in the wings will be the other finalists: No. 2 Peabody Hotels and No. 3 Hyatt Hotels. "This is the foundation for a new era in Miami Beach tourism, " said Jonathan Tisch, Loews president. The Tisch family developed the Americana Hotel, now the Sheraton Bal Harbour. The Ratners built the Clevelander Hotel on Ocean Drive. "The Tisch and the Ratners have returned to Miami Beach at a time when the world has rediscovered it," Tisch said. "This a major statement that the beach is back." Of the three finalists, the Loews proposal demanded the most from the city -- $70.8 million in loans, land and a parking garage. It also took the longest to return the money -- 25 years, compared to five to ten for the other two. However, in the end, commissioners based their decisions on appreciation for the sublime design of the Loews building, and faith in the corporate history of the Tisch and Ratner families. "It's a project that would respect the neighborhood in what has become the popular place for the world, " said Nancy Liebman, Miami Beach commissioner. "A unique blending of the old and new, it contains a sense of scale that respects the historic nature of this community. " The new black-owned hotel, to be constructed directly south of the Loews project, calls for the renovation of the Royal Palm and Shorecrest hotels, and construction of a hotel tower fronting the ocean. The project is being put up by four local entrepreneurs: American Express Vice President Peter J. Calin, Texaco attorney Jerry D. Bailey, Miami investor Marvin Holloway and Eugene Ford Jr. , chief executive of Miami-based Argus Construction. On Thursday, along with the vote, came a flurry of hopes that the two hotels would help spark new era in the region's stagnant hotel industry. "The key is not today, but tomorrow, and the long term impact this is going to have on the town, " said Stu Blumberg, president of the Miami Beach Hotel Resort Association, who built the last major hotel on Miami Beach, the Hilton Plaza (now the Castle Beach) back in 1967. TAG: 9402200118 5 of 11, 14 Terms mh94 TOP PLAN FOR S. BEACH RESORT HAS DECO SPIRIT 06/30/1994 THE MIAMI HERALD Copyright (c) 1994, The Miami Herald DATE: Thursday, June 30, 1994 EDITION: FINAL SECTION: FRONT PAGE: 1A LENGTH: 92 lines ILLUSTRATION: photo: The Loews (HOTEL-color) , The Grand Hyatt (HOTEL --color) , The Peabody (HOTEL--color) SOURCE/CREDIT LINE: ANTHONY FAIOLA And PETER WHORISKEY Herald Staff Writers TOP PLAN FOR S. BEACH RESORT HAS DECO SPIRIT 16-STORY HOTEL PRAISED FOR ITS DESIGN A proposal shaped by the spirit of the Art Deco historic district won the first round of a competition to design, build and operate a landmark convention center hotel in South Beach. The 830-room hotel, expected to open a new era in South Florida tourism, won the high marks for both architectural design and corporate backing. Miami Beach is offering up to $60 milliod in incentives to build a hotel at 16th Street and Collins Avenue to anchor its convention center. It will be the first major hotel to be built on Miami Beach in two decades. The front-runner is a partnership between Loews Hotels, controlled by the powerful Tisch Family of New York, and Forest City Ratner Cos. , led by the Ratner family of Cleveland. Both are familiar with South Florida. The Ratners developed the historic Clevelander Hotel on Ocean Drive. The Tisch family -- including CBS Chairman Laurence Tisch -- built the Americana Hotel, known today as the Sheraton Bal Harbour. "We feel this project, located in one of the most well- defined historic districts in the country, is going to turn Miami Beach into one of the most pre-eminent resorts for business and leisure travelers in America, " said Jonathan Tisch, president of Loews, who even dressed up as a woman in the company's presentation video in the hopes some laughter would sway support Loews' way. The selection committee recommendation will be forwarded to the City Commission, which will make the final choice later this month. The panel ranked a proposal for an 800-room Peabody Hotel, backed by the Belz family of Memphis, second best. In third place is a proposal backed by Miami-based Plaza Development Corp. and Cuban-American leader Jorge Mas Canosa for an 800-room Grand Hyatt Hotel. The Hyatt proposal was designed by Alan and Morris Lapidus, legendary beach architect and designer of the landmark Fontainebleau Hilton and Eden Roc hotels. The committee also recommended approval for a $10 million loan to help build a 265-room Sheraton Suites Hotel proposed by four Miami black businessmen. The measure was part of Miami Beach's promise to lure a black hotelier to the island after the end of Dade's black tourism boycott. This partnership includes American Express Vice President Peter J. Calin, Texaco attorney Jerry D. Bailey, Miami investor Marvin Holloway and Eugene Ford Jr. , chief executive of Miami-based Argus Construction. After two days of highly charged hearings, where five bidders presented flashy videos, charts -- including a virtual reality tour through one proposal -- the decision rested on two main criteria. Design and economics. "I think the design came first in our minds, " said Arthur Courshon, chairman of the citizens selection committee and chairman of Jefferson National Bank in Miami Beach. "The Loews proposal fit into the community the best. " The Loews design team, John Nichols and Bernard Zyscovich, won unanimous praise for reflecting the surrounding Art Deco influence and for its scale. At 16 stories, it is the shortest of the competitors. Said committee member Vincent Scully, an eminent architectural historian: "It's a wonderful example of using history in the present. There is a sense that the architects care about Miami Beach. " Economics, including marketing strategy and corporate structure, also weighted heavily. The selection committee chose the Loews chain because it was smaller. They felt a smaller outfit would mean that the landmark Miami property would garner more attention from corporate headquarters. Loews manages a chain of 14 hotels worldwide. Yet according to a last-minute review by city consultants, the Loews proposal actually requested more incentive money from Miami Beach coffers than the two runners-up. The $165.7 million Loews proposal asked the city for a total of $70.7 million, in the form of land, city-bond backed financing, and the construction of a parking garage across the street. It will take 25 years before the city is completely paid back. The $132 million Peabody proposal asked the city for a total of $61 million, also in land, financing and a parking garage. Under this proposal, the city would get its money back within 10 years. Finally, the $130.5 million Hyatt proposal asked the city for a total of $60.5 million. Under this proposal, the city would get its money back in six years. The selection committee narrowed the field down to three from five bidders. It wasn't an easy process, and it was not without controversy. Neil Fairman, president of Plaza Development Group, backers of the Hyatt proposal, complained that the city's financial consultants -- Arthur Andersen & Co. and Bear Stearns & Co. -- did not provide comprehensive economic comparisons between the different proposals. "Clearly, they didn't do their job, " Fairman said. "All the proposals compared apples and oranges in their numbers, and it was the job of those consultants to do clear the fog for the committee. They didn't do that. " KEYWORDS: ART DECO HOTEL MB COST TAG: 9402150553 7 of 11, 14 Terms mh94 GIANTS VIE TO BUILD GRAND HOTEL ON BEACH 03/08/1994 THE MIAMI HERALD Copyright (c) 1994, The Miami Herald DATE: Tuesday, March 8, 1994 EDITION: FINAL SECTION: FRONT PAGE: LA LENGTH: 96 lines ILLUSTRATION: photo: Ross PEROT, Jorge MAS CANOSA; map: Proposed hotel site in Miami Beach SOURCE/CREDIT LINE: ANTHONY FAIOLA Herald Business Writer GIANTS VIE TO BUILD GRAND HOTEL ON BEACH PEROT, MAS CANOSA AMONG HOPEFULS Ross Perot wants to build it. So does Jorge Mas Canosa. Then toss in about every major name in the tourism business from Ritz-Carlton to Hyatt Hotels. They're all vying for the right to build the first new grand hotel on Miami Beach in 26 years. Late Monday, Miami. Beach city officials unveiled six proposals in a worldwide search for developers to build a convention center hotel on 5.5 acres of prime waterfront land at 16th Street and Collins Avenue. The proposals ranged drastically -- from a 50-story Ritz Carlton Tower to 15-story Loews Hotel. The new hotel would be Dade's second largest after the 1,266-room Fontainebleau Hilton. After a decade of unsuccessful attempts to lure developers, Miami Beach lured them with an offer of more than $60 million in incentives -- including land and city-backed bond financing. They had one thing in common: All came with promises of helping return Miami Beach tourism to its glory days. "Miami Beach is going through a great renaissance, " said Morris Lapidus, 91, the legendary architect who designed the Fontainebleau Hilton, the interior of Lincoln Road Mall and other Miami Beach landmarks. Lapidus and his son Allan are part of a group that includes Hyatt Hotels; Mas Canosa, the Cuban- American leader and head of Church and ower, a phone cable company; and Plaza Development Group, a Miami-based real estate development firm. "This is the heart of the Miami Beach we're talking about, " Lapidus said. "The correct hotel here could help redefine the city. " The Hyatt/Lapidus proposal, a $127 million hotel with 800 rooms, would be like a "modern Fontainebleau" with neon lights illuminating each level of the hotel. The city asked for proposals for more than one hotel site -- and it got them. Two additional bids came for two other sites in the city. One group, backed by media mogul Eugene Jackson, proposed the $45 million renovation of the Eden Roc Hotel into a four- star hotel similar to its early days. In 1972, Jackson started the nationwide Black Radio Network, and is now forming a new cable station called the World Africa Network. The bid includes a partnership with the current owner, Lloyd Goldman. Another group backed by four Miami black businessman proposed a 280- to 300-room hotel adjacent to the primary convention hotel, on property now occupied by the Royal Palm and Shorecrest Hotels. The entrepreneurs include American Express Vice President Peter J. Calin, Texaco attorney Jerry D. Bailey, Miami investor Marvin Holloway and Eugene Ford Jr. , chief executive of Miami-based Argus Construction. But the largest minority proposal came from Atlanta-based H.J. Russell & Co. , one of the biggest minority-owned development companies, in the nation. The company, which built the Georgia Dome and is building the new Olympic Stadium in Atlanta, proposed a $130 million Marriott Hotel with 756-rooms. This firm is also a potential bidder for building Northwestern High School project. Ross Perot's Hillwood Development Corp. is also proposing a Marriott Hotel. Perot wants to build a larger hotel, with 900 rooms, for an estimated cost of $117 million. The proposal with the largest scope comes from Ritz- Carlton, to be built by Pacific International Construction Inc. , one of the largest developers on Miami Beach. Pacific International has built the Excellence, The Sterling, and is beginning construction on Sunset Harbour that will front Biscayne Bay. The Ritz-Carlton plan includes a 50-story tower built in a modern deco style, adjacent to a refurbished St. Moritz Hotel. The total project would cost $119 million, and include 900 rooms. Another proposal teams up the Belz family of Memphis, owners of factory outlet stores across the nation, with South Beach restaurateur Tom Billante, owner of Mezzanotte on Washington Avenue, and the Peabody hotel chain. Together, they want to build a $131 million hotel with 800 rooms. The Tisch and Ratner families put forward a proposal that includes Dade builder Armando Codina as a key consultant in the development of the property. The Tisch and Ratner families, two powerful business clans with longtime ties to Dade real estate, joined together in a $135 million bid -- the highest priced of all six -- for an 830-room hotel under the Loews hotel chain. For at least five years, the city-owned land could be leased for next to nothing. Besides that, Miami Beach officials are willing to kick in more than $45 million worth of city- backed bond financing, and possibly a new hotel parking garage. The package from the city also sets aside an additional $10 million for erecting a smaller hotel built by an African American developer, thus satisfying one of the demands of the black tourism boycott that ended last spring. This money is included, regardless of whether or not a minority-owned firm wins the bid for the larger convention hotel. Over the next two months, a citizens panel, to be created by the Miami Beach Commission, will review the proposals and interview applicants. The panel is expected to issue a recommendation to the commission, which will make the final selection sometime in May. Among the criteria that will distinguish each bid: Up front equity investments, size and design, proposed amenities, management and financing plans, and name recognition from major chains. Said Miami Beach City Manager Roger Carlton: "This leaves no doubt that Miami Beach is ripe for development of a convention hotel. We were overwhelmed by the quality of the bids. Regardless of who is chosen, I don't think there's any way the city can lose. " TAG: 9401180148 10 of 11, 4 Terms mh94 POWERFUL FAMILIES BID FOR BEACH HOTEL 03/01/1994 THE MIAMI HERALD Copyright (c) 1994, The Miami Herald DATE: Tuesday, March 1, 1994 EDITION: FINAL SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: 1C LENGTH: 65 lines ILLUSTRATION: photo: The AMERICANA HOTEL SOURCE/CREDIT LINE: ANTHONY FAIOLA Herald Business Writer POWERFUL FAMILIES BID FOR BEACH HOTEL CASINO NOT REQUIRED, THEY SAY The Tisch and Ratner families, two powerful business clans with longtime ties to Dade County real estate, are joining together in a bid to build a new 800-room convention hotel on South Beach. The partnership unites the Tisch family of New York -- including CBS Chairman Laurence Tisch and his nephew, Loews Hotels President Jonathan Tisch -- with the Ratners of Cleveland, owners of Forest City Ratner Cos. , a national real estate giant with $2.5 billion in holdings. The high-powered families are the latest to show interest in constructing a convention center hotel on 5.5 acres of land owned by the city of Miami Beach at Collins Avenue and 16th Street. Besides the Tisch/Ratner group, 55 other investors have indicated an interest in the project by requesting bidding packages from Miami Beach city officials. Included in the fray are Donald Trump, Bally Manufacturing Corp. and Hyatt Hotels. The big names underscore the lucrative nature of such a hotel, especially at a time when many are betting on casinos in Florida to boost convention business on Miami Beach -- where no new hotels have been built in more than two decades. Jonathan Tisch said Monday, however, that the companies were interested in the convention center hotel project -- casinos or not. "Our numbers indicate that this hotel will be successful with or without casino gambling, " Tisch said in a phone interview from New York. "We have a history of doing business in Miami, and the need for a large convention hotel in Miami has never been stronger. " Neither the Tisch or Ratner families are strangers to South Florida. In 1957, the Tisch family developed the famed 717-room Americana Hotel. The family sold the property, now the Sheraton Bal Harbour, in 1972. The family was an initial investor in the Deering Bay residential project on Old Cutler Road with local developer Armando Codina, and it owns a stake in the Beacon Centre in West Dade. The Ratners, meanwhile, built the 70-room Clevelander Hotel on Ocean Drive in 1938 -- at a cost of $75, 000. They sold it in 1985 for. $1 million. The family also worked with a committee on Miami Beach to develop a revitalization plan for Lincoln Road Mall last year. Today, the Ratners own one of the nation's largest real estate development companies. Among their recent projects: the 4.2 million-square-foot Metrotech Center in Brooklyn. The company also intends to build a massive retail/entertainment mall in Atlantic City that will include a hotel and casino. The bid from Tisch/Ratner to build on Miami Beach could have an edge on the others. Miami Beach is offering up to $60 million in land incentives to any hotel developer, but the private investment needed to construct the hotel is high, hovering around $100 million. The families, however, say their proposal includes an undisclosed amount of equity fronted by the families, and a letter from an financial institution willing to fund a first mortgage. Next Monday, both Jonathan Tisch and Bruce C. Ratner will fly into town to present their proposal to Miami Beach officials in person. In the deal, the Ratners would build the project, and the Tisch family would operate it under the Loews name. cutlines TISCH CREATION: The Americana Hotel, now the Sheraton Bal Harbour, is shown in 1957. The Tisch family developed the hotel. TAG: 9401160026