Miami Beach hotel

As a Miami Beach resident, homeowner and taxpayer for almost 67 years, I’m proud of the city’s evolution from a seasonal resort town to today’s vibrant year-round community that offers more benefits to its residents than any other in Miami-Dade County.

This positive change has come about largely through the economic benefits of a robust tourism and convention industry that has provided high-level funding for numerous city projects and events. With that in mind, my wife and I are voting in favor of the new Convention Center Hotel as a vital part of improving Miami Beach.

The hotel will grow our status as a world-class destination, while paying millions of dollars to the city each year to fund flood-mitigation efforts, K-12 education and recreation improvements, transit upgrades and other projects that will improve our quality of life.

It will also be privately funded and help replace traffic-heavy local trade shows with fly-in conventions that don’t clog our already-crowded streets.

This story was originally published February 20, 2016 at 12:00 PM with the headline "Miami Beach hotel."