Fontainebleau Opens New Convention Center in South Florida

On Wednesday, Fontainebleau Miami Beach unveiled its new five-story Coastal Convention Center, offering a brand-new, high-end convention space. 

Meetings and conventions are essential to the property. “The greater Miami area has seen a steady growth in demand for modern, luxury meeting spaces for both business and leisure events over the past decade, and over half of Fontainebleau Miami Beach’s business is related to conventions and groups,” said Philip Goldfarb, chief operating officer for Fontainebleau Development.

The new convention center includes 45,000 square feet of meeting space. This includes a 16,500-square-foot ballroom, a 9,500-square-foot junior ballroom, and a 7,000-square-foot rooftop deck. It connects to Fontainebleau Miami Beach via sky bridge, adding to the resort’s 200,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting and event space.

Bloomberg reports that Fontainebleau Miami Beach sold a $975 million commercial mortgage-backed security to refinance debt. Some of those funds, it reports, are earmarked to repay a $75 million construction loan for the new convention center.

“The Coastal Convention Center is an asset for Miami Dade County, and all of South Florida. It is going to open the door for tremendous possibilities for us to attract larger and more flexible events,” says David Whitaker, president and CEO of the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau. 

The opening of the new convention center came days before the resort celebrates its 70th anniversary on December 21, 2024. In addition, the Coastal Convention Center opening also fell on the first anniversary of the opening of the $3.7 billion Fontainebleau in Las Vegas.