New Miami mayor Philip Levine has positioned himself as a major roadblock in the way of OMA‘s proposed Miami Beach Convention Center. South Beach ACE, a team lead by Rem Koolhaas, local developer Robert Wennett, and New York City developer Dan Tishman narrowly edged a design by Bjarke Ingles Group in a hotly contested competition held last year to re-design the campus.

Levine has now raised questions about the proposed $1 billion cost of the project and is calling for a new set of candidates offering smaller-scale and more affordable renovation options. On Wednesday, the city officially killed the project.

Unsurprisingly, ACE has not reacted well to the news, citing the large sums they invested in winning the initial competition. Their vision for the project included extensive green space and constituted a tempt to more effectively integrate the complex into the surrounding South Beach neighborhood. A curved hotel was placed atop the corner of the building in order to minimize the architectural footprint of the plan.

According to the Miami Herald, the city called off ACE’s proposal, opting instead to “issue a new bid for just the renovation of the city-owned convention center.” A separate project to build a new hotel will also be explored independently.

Despite the star-power behind the proposal Levine has proved reticent to commit money he feels the city does not currently have in its coffers.  Clearly, the recently elected mayor is yet to see the snazzy promotional video ACE produced to present their concept.