MIAMI—Dueling plans for the redevelopment of the Miami Beach Convention Center and its 52-acre site reveal a series of significant differences as the competition between finalists South Beach ACE and Portman-CMC enters its final stretch. While the master plan concepts initially proposed by the two teams differed significantly, recent weeks have seen the main elements of Portman-CMC's plan shift more towards that of South Beach ACE.

Dan Tishman, the New York-based developer currently overseeing the reconstruction of the World Trade Center site and the renovation of the Jacob Javits Convention Center in Manhattan, once again says: “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” South Beach ACE says its proposal still has a number of advantages in the areas of urban design, the creation of public spaces, financing, mobility, functionality, and efficiency.

“While Portman-CMC has borrowed many of our ideas—including preserving the Jackie Gleason Theater, reconfiguring 17th street, and locating their hotel atop the convention center—a close inspection reveals that South Beach ACE has the upper hand where it counts most, including the all-important gauge of public support,” says Tishman, whose firm is leading South Beach ACE alongside OMA, the international architecture firm led by Pritzker Prize winner Rem Koolhaas, and Miami Beach developer UIA.