82 Business View Magazine - July 2016
vate collectors and directors, curators, trustees, and
patrons of nearly 200 museum and institution groups.
The show hosted first-time collectors from Cambodia,
Ethiopia, Nicaragua, Romania, Togo, and Zimbabwe.
In 1989, the facility underwent a $92 million renova-
tion and expansion doubling in size and creating the
four hall center that it is, today. But all of that is about
to change as the MBCC has just begun a massive,
$515 million renovation and expansion project, slated
to be completed sometime in mid-2018. According to
Hollander, it will be “a full-gut renovation of the exist-
ing facility’s current footprint. About a third of one side
of our building is going to be completely demolished
and replaced with a new structure. All of our meet-
ing rooms and ballroom spaces are being completely
renovated with new technology, new finishes, and new
conveniences for both our users and our operators. All
of the major facility systems’ infrastructure - our HVAC,
electrical systems, data technology, lighting – are all
being replaced with a focus on high efficiency. The
building, at minimum, will achieve LEED Silver status,
with the ultimate goal of trying to reach Gold. What’s
new to the building, in terms of new space, is the addi-
tion of a 60,000 square foot, grand ballroom.”
Since Miami is right on the front lines when it comes
to issues of sea-level rise due to climate change, the
design of the renovated Convention Center will also
incorporate additional pumps and systems to ensure
that the building and its occupants would be safe from
any rising-water events. “We’ve also taken efforts to
ensure that major systems are located at an elevation,
future-proofing them against the potential of sea-level
rise,” Hollander adds.
In addition, Hollander reports that there will be chang-
es beyond the walls of the new structure, itself. “It’s a
