Director's Resignation Delays Miami Beach Convention Center Redevopment

MIAMI BEACH (CBSMiami) – A massive project to renovate the Miami Beach Convention Center and 52 acres surrounding it has been delayed after the sudden resignation of the city's procurement director.

On Friday, Gus Lopez handed in his resignation letter after being informed he was about to be fired, according to CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald. City Manager Jorge Gonzalez reportedly told the paper they were going to let Lopez go because of 'lost confidence' in the ability to do his job, insubordination and 'inappropriate' handling of a personal matter.

Gonzalez would not say if the 'inappropriate' handling of a matter was in regards to the process of short listing a number of development teams to compete for the Miami Beach Convention Center District project.

Last Thursday, the city pushed back the March 29th deadline for interested developers to submit of qualifications to April 23rd. This was the second deadline extension in a week.

In June, Miami Beach commissioners are expected to choose a list of four or five development teams to design master plans and negotiate with the city. Those teams will then compete against each other.

Voters will likely need to approve long-term public land leases, a bed-tax hike on hotel guests and an increase in height limits for the project to be realized.

CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald contributed to this report.