South Florida’s chief tourism marketing agency is throwing its support behind the Fontainebleau Miami Beach’s proposed pool deck renovations, which are up for a preservation review next month.
In a letter to the Miami Beach Historic Preservation Board, Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau (GMCVB) President and CEO David Whitaker stressed that the city must keep reinvesting and diversifying to stay competitive with other global destinations — and that’s precisely what the Fontainebleau project is doing.
“(Our) destination must continually evolve, reinvesting in existing assets, diversifying visitor experiences, and responding to changing travel patterns,” he said, adding when cities don’t modernize their hospitality offerings, they risk losing market share.
He called the Fontainebleau proposal “a thoughtful and timely response to these realities” that could deliver something new for the city.
“A true family friendly destination resort, integrated within an existing, iconic property,” he said, “would be the first of its kind in Miami Beach.”
Fontainebleau Development, led by Chair and CEO Jeffrey Soffer, said the proposal is designed to “responsibly repurpose” existing outdoor areas without expanding the hotel’s amenity footprint or altering its architectural character.
Recent reporting has described Fontainebleau’s plan as a sweeping rework of its outdoor pool deck aimed at attracting more families, including a proposed water-park concept featuring 11 waterslides — one reportedly about 120 feet tall — along with other pool-deck upgrades.
“These enhancements are about reinvesting in the guest experience in a way that supports Miami Beach’s tourism economy and strengthens our competitiveness, while protecting Fontainebleau’s historic significance,” Soffer said in a statement.
Anthony Stahl, the company’s senior vice president of development, has described the proposal as a “thoughtful evolution” meant to preserve the resort’s iconic identity while adapting to modern family travel expectations.
The GMCVB support follows a separate endorsement earlier this month from the Greater Miami and the Beaches Hotel Association, which urged the Historic Preservation Board to approve the project, framing it as essential reinvestment for Miami Beach’s broader hotel ecosystem.
The Fontainebleau, designed by architect Morris Lapidus and opened in 1954, has long been a defining Miami Beach landmark and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.
The Historic Preservation Board, which reviews alterations affecting designated historic properties and recommends guidelines for evaluating proposed changes, is scheduled to meet Feb. 10 at City Hall.
A review of the Fontainebleau project is on the agenda.
