Portman: 5 Reasons Our Plans Are Better

MIAMI—Still battling in the court of public opinion, Portman-CMC has released a “Top 5 Reasons” list for why its plan to develop the Miami Beach Convention Center is better for City of Miami Beach and its taxpayers than rival South Beach ACE's plan.

The Top 5 Reasons list points out differences between the two finalists' proposals as put forth in their respective Letters of Intent to the Miami Beach Commission. Both letters are publically available on the City of Miami Beach website here. Here is Portman-CMC's list. We'll follow up this afternoon with South Beach ACE's own reasoning about why it's plan is better.

1. Portman-CMC plan will cost the public less. Portman-CMC says its plan would require $75.6 million less in public cost than ACE's, according to a breakdown by the city analysis. Here's the defense of that statement: Total costs for the Portman-CMC proposal are $656.5 million, compared to $715.0 million for ACE. These numbers, however, must be modified as they include components that are not public costs. After deducting Portman-CMC's $32.1 million private contribution to the public for open space and ACE's $10.6 million private contribution to the public for open space, then deducting ACE's $4.4 million in excess proceeds, you arrive at the total public costs of $624.4 million for Portman-CMC and $700.0 million for ACE. The gap between these numbers is $75.6 million, the difference in the total public costs of the two projects.   

2. Portman-CMC team's design fees will cost the public less. Portman claims ACE's team is charging the city $8.8 million more than Portman-CMC in fees. Here's Portman's defense of that statement: Developer Fees & Staffing are $15.8 million for Portman-CMC and $18.0 million for ACE. Construction Management Fees are $9.4 million for Portman-CMC and $11.0 million for ACE. Lead Architect Fees are $15.0 million for Portman-CMC and $20.0 million for ACE. The difference in these fees shows that ACE's plan would charge the City $8.8 million more in fees than Portman-CMC.

3. Portman-CMC will take 19 months less to construct the full project. Portman claims ACE's schedule for completion of its full project is 19 months longer, which it says will result in lost revenue to the city and greater disturbance to the residents. Here's Portman's defense of that statement: South Beach ACE's construction schedule begins in July 2014 and ends in August 2018, resulting in 50 months from Temporary Meeting Space to Hotel completion. Portman-CMC's plan starts in January 2015 and ends in July 2017, resulting in 31 months from Convention Center to Gleason/Phase 3 Retail. Therefore, Portman says, the difference between the two construction schedules is approximately 19 months.

4. Portman-CMC will give back more money to the public if the project goes under budget. If the Miami Beach Convention Center District Redevelopment Project comes in under budget, under standard practice the teams share in the savings. Portman-CMC has proposed that they retain only 20% of the savings and will give 80% back to the city, whereas ACE is proposing to keep 50% of the savings and will only give the city 50% back.

5. South Beach ACE's scheme is 50% taller than Portman-CMC's thus taking views away from surrounding properties. Portman-CMC's plan is 124 feet high. ACE's plan is 194 feet high. Also, Portman says, it has been noted that ACE's proposed hotel conception may cast a shadow on the Holocaust Memorial.

"Our plan is the most fiscally responsible plan for the City of Miami Beach and its taxpayers," says Jack Portman, vice chairman of Portman Holdings. "Our plan costs the city less money, we charge the City less money and we do this while creating a modern convention center, new hotel, new public square and we invest more private money into culture and arts for the benefit of Miami Beach residents."

Come back this afternoon for South Beach ACE's thoughts.