Miami Beach Convention Center Alternate Care Facility

City of Miami Beach hosts alternate care facility requested by State of Florida to supplement hospital system in region

Published April 15, 2020
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville, District deputy commander and senior project manager for the COVID-19 emergency response, Lt. Col. Todd Polk, Corps mechanical engineer, Jason Chapple, and civil engineer, Stephen Dupries brief the Chief Engineer of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite on the construction at the Miami Beach Convention Center to convert it to an alternate care facility.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville, District deputy commander and senior project manager for the COVID-19 emergency response, Lt. Col. Todd Polk, Corps mechanical engineer, Jason Chapple, and civil engineer, Stephen Dupries brief the Chief Engineer of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite on the construction at the Miami Beach Convention Center to convert it to an alternate care facility.

Col. Andrew Kelly, commander of the Jacksonville District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, hands a letter certifying the completion of the Alternate Care Facility the district built in the Miami Convention Center to Kevin Guthrie, Deputy Director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management. The facility provides 450 beds, 50 of them intensive care unit beds, gives the state of Florida medical providers and state emergency managers flexibility as they prepare for a COVID-19 based surge at local and regional medical facilities. Initially, the facility was to be completed by April 27, but the deadline was moved to April 20 after a meeting with the Florida governor identified an expedited need. Even with the shortened deadline, the Corps of Engineers delivered the site early, with the contractor completing construction April 18 and the Corps signing over the facility to the state on April 19.

Col. Andrew Kelly, commander of the Jacksonville District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, hands a letter certifying the completion of the Alternate Care Facility the district built in the Miami Convention Center to Kevin Guthrie, Deputy Director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management. The facility provides 450 beds, 50 of them intensive care unit beds, gives the state of Florida medical providers and state emergency managers flexibility as they prepare for a COVID-19 based surge at local and regional medical facilities. Initially, the facility was to be completed by April 27, but the deadline was moved to April 20 after a meeting with the Florida governor identified an expedited need. Even with the shortened deadline, the Corps of Engineers delivered the site early, with the contractor completing construction April 18 and the Corps signing over the facility to the state on April 19.

Leadership from the City of Miami Beach, Mayor Dan Gebler, Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez of Mayor of Miami-Dade, the Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Chief Engineer of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite brief the press and the people of South Florida on the current outlook of the COVID-19 Pandemic and the work being done at the Miami Beach Convention Center to convert it to an alternate care facility. When complete, the Miami Beach Convention Center (MBCC) Alternate Care Facility (ACF) will hold 450 beds, 50 of which will be isolation units and 400 of which will house regular beds. During emergencies, USACE is the federal government's lead public works and engineering support agency. Given its extensive work in building medical facilities for its military stakeholders, it is uniquely qualified to tackle this engineering challenge.

Leadership from the City of Miami Beach, Mayor Dan Gebler, Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez of Mayor of Miami-Dade, the Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Chief Engineer of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite brief the press and the people of South Florida on the current outlook of the COVID-19 Pandemic and the work being done at the Miami Beach Convention Center to convert it to an alternate care facility. When complete, the Miami Beach Convention Center (MBCC) Alternate Care Facility (ACF) will hold 450 beds, 50 of which will be isolation units and 400 of which will house regular beds. During emergencies, USACE is the federal government's lead public works and engineering support agency. Given its extensive work in building medical facilities for its military stakeholders, it is uniquely qualified to tackle this engineering challenge.

Col. Andrew Kelly, commander of the Jacksonville District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, signs the letter certifying the completion of the Alternate Care Facility the district built in the Miami Convention Center as Kevin Guthrie, Deputy Director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management watches. The facility provides 450 beds, 50 of them intensive care unit beds, gives the state of Florida medical providers and state emergency managers flexibility as they prepare for a COVID-19 based surge at local and regional medical facilities. Initially, the facility was to be completed by April 27, but the deadline was moved to April 20 after a meeting with the Florida governor identified an expedited need. Even with the shortened deadline, the Corps of Engineers delivered the site early, with the contractor completing construction April 18 and the Corps signing over the facility to the state on April 19.

Col. Andrew Kelly, commander of the Jacksonville District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, signs the letter certifying the completion of the Alternate Care Facility the district built in the Miami Convention Center as Kevin Guthrie, Deputy Director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management watches. The facility provides 450 beds, 50 of them intensive care unit beds, gives the state of Florida medical providers and state emergency managers flexibility as they prepare for a COVID-19 based surge at local and regional medical facilities. Initially, the facility was to be completed by April 27, but the deadline was moved to April 20 after a meeting with the Florida governor identified an expedited need. Even with the shortened deadline, the Corps of Engineers delivered the site early, with the contractor completing construction April 18 and the Corps signing over the facility to the state on April 19.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville, District deputy commander and senior project manager for the COVID-19 emergency response, Lt. Col. Todd Polk watches as leadership from the City of Miami Beach, the State of Florida and the Chief Engineer of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite brief the press and the people of South Florida on the current outlook of the COVID-19 Pandemic and the work being done at the Miami Beach Convention Center to convert it to an alternate care facility. USACE staff awarded a construction contract Monday for $22.5 Million to Robins & Morton of Miami, Fla. to convert the Miami Beach Convention Center into a 450-bed hospital. During emergencies, USACE is the federal government's lead public works and engineering support agency. Given its extensive work in building medical facilities for its military stakeholders, it is uniquely qualified to tackle this engineering challenge.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville, District deputy commander and senior project manager for the COVID-19 emergency response, Lt. Col. Todd Polk watches as leadership from the City of Miami Beach, the State of Florida and the Chief Engineer of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite brief the press and the people of South Florida on the current outlook of the COVID-19 Pandemic and the work being done at the Miami Beach Convention Center to convert it to an alternate care facility. USACE staff awarded a construction contract Monday for $22.5 Million to Robins & Morton of Miami, Fla. to convert the Miami Beach Convention Center into a 450-bed hospital. During emergencies, USACE is the federal government's lead public works and engineering support agency. Given its extensive work in building medical facilities for its military stakeholders, it is uniquely qualified to tackle this engineering challenge.

Col. Andrew Kelly, commander of the Jacksonville District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, hands the keys of the completed Alternate Care Facility the district built in the Miami Convention Center to Kevin Guthrie, Deputy Director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management. The facility provides 450 beds, 50 of them intensive care unit beds, gives the state of Florida medical providers and state emergency managers flexibility as they prepare for a COVID-19 based surge at local and regional medical facilities. Initially, the facility was to be completed by April 27, but the deadline was moved to April 20 after a meeting with the Florida governor identified an expedited need. Even with the shortened deadline, the Corps of Engineers delivered the site early, with the contractor completing construction April 18 and the Corps signing over the facility to the state on April 19.

Col. Andrew Kelly, commander of the Jacksonville District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, hands the keys of the completed Alternate Care Facility the district built in the Miami Convention Center to Kevin Guthrie, Deputy Director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management. The facility provides 450 beds, 50 of them intensive care unit beds, gives the state of Florida medical providers and state emergency managers flexibility as they prepare for a COVID-19 based surge at local and regional medical facilities. Initially, the facility was to be completed by April 27, but the deadline was moved to April 20 after a meeting with the Florida governor identified an expedited need. Even with the shortened deadline, the Corps of Engineers delivered the site early, with the contractor completing construction April 18 and the Corps signing over the facility to the state on April 19.

The Miami Beach Convention Center is now a 24 hour construction site crews work at a steady pace to install ICU and Acute Care pods. USACE staff awarded a construction contract Monday April 6, 2020 for $22.5 Million to Robins & Morton of Miami, Fla. to convert the Miami Beach Convention Center into a 450-bed alternate care facility.

The Miami Beach Convention Center is now a 24 hour construction site crews work at a steady pace to install ICU and Acute Care pods. USACE staff awarded a construction contract Monday April 6, 2020 for $22.5 Million to Robins & Morton of Miami, Fla. to convert the Miami Beach Convention Center into a 450-bed alternate care facility.

The Miami Beach Convention Center is now a 24 hour construction site crews work at a steady pace to install ICU and Acute Care pods. USACE staff awarded a construction contract Monday April 6, 2020 for $22.5 Million to Robins & Morton of Miami, Fla. to convert the Miami Beach Convention Center into a 450-bed alternate care facility.

The Miami Beach Convention Center is now a 24 hour construction site crews work at a steady pace to install ICU and Acute Care pods. USACE staff awarded a construction contract Monday April 6, 2020 for $22.5 Million to Robins & Morton of Miami, Fla. to convert the Miami Beach Convention Center into a 450-bed alternate care facility.

The Miami Beach Convention Center is now a 24 hour construction site crews work at a steady pace to install ICU and Acute Care pods. USACE staff awarded a construction contract Monday April 6, 2020 for $22.5 Million to Robins & Morton of Miami, Fla. to convert the Miami Beach Convention Center into a 450-bed alternate care facility.

The Miami Beach Convention Center is now a 24 hour construction site crews work at a steady pace to install ICU and Acute Care pods. USACE staff awarded a construction contract Monday April 6, 2020 for $22.5 Million to Robins & Morton of Miami, Fla. to convert the Miami Beach Convention Center into a 450-bed alternate care facility.

Two months after hosting the NFL Superbowl Experience, the Jacksonville District transformed the Miami Beach Convention Center into a 450-bed alternate care facility to treat potential COVID-19 patients. The District awarded a $22.5 million contract to Robins and Morton  of Miami, Fla., to convert the 1.4 million square foot facility that normally sees huge car and boat shows into a medical facility that can treat patients affected by the pandemic.

Originally scheduled for contract completion on April 27, a meeting on the second day of construction with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite, the commander of the Army Corps of Engineers, led to a new scheduled completion date of April 20. Under the direction of the Jacksonville District team on the ground in Miami Beach, the contractor completed construction on April 18, and the facility was turned over to the state of Florida on April 19, two days before scheduled.

Overview

The Miami Beach Conference Center Alternate Care Facility Project is a state and federal partnership in response to the Novel Coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic.

  • An alternate care facility (ACF) is a site that’s temporarily converted for healthcare use during a public health emergency to reduce the burden on hospitals and established medical facilities.
  • ACFs are being built based on models that predict when peak infection rates will most likely stress existing medical facilities to the maximum extent.

PROJECT LOCATION

The Miami Beach Convention Center is located at 1900 Convention Center Drive, Miami Beach, FL 33139 (25.794762, -80.133714) The project site encompasses an area of 1.4 million sq ft. (overall)

PROJECT BACKGROUND

The Corps of Engineers awarded the $22.5 million contract (with further negotiations pending) to Robins and Morton of Miami, FL, to convert the Miami Beach Convention Center (MBCC) into an Alternate Care Facility (ACF) for COVID-19 patients.

  •  450 beds total
  •  50 isolation units with negative pressure capability and hard-lined oxygen supply
  • 400 acute-care beds with hard-lined oxygen supply
  • Medical pharmacy and clean supply storage
  • Medical staff rest area, showers, and decontamination space
  • Total patient treatment area the roughly the size of a football field

The project ended up using approximately:

  • FIve miles of copper tubing
  • 50 miles of electrical cable
  • 100 miles of Cat 6 data cable

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District remained on site during construction to supervise performance of the contract and ensure the work met the specifications required by the Florida Department of Health. 

 


Contact
Jim Yocum
904-232-3914
James.A.Yocum@usace.army.mil